Gensokyo and the Harbinger of Madness
by NazoDi
Summary: A young man enters Gensokyo. What follows him is madness and destruction.   M for Harsh language and graphic descriptions.
1. Chapter One: A New Threat

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopeful nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"The hell is this place?" A young man says as he walks past a shrine.

The man was of average human male height and had brown scruffy hair. He sported a black light jacket with a dark gray t-shirt underneath. His belt that held up his black jean pants was made out of chains and they clanged as he walked. His eyes were a dark red color that seemed to give off a slight ominous glow.

"Oh its a what you call em, a Shinto shrine or whatever. Guess this place still has some sort of connection with the outside." He walks to the front of the shrine and looks around with curious eyes. "Oh my god these places have those maiden people don't they?" He says as he gets all excited. "And this must be a donation box." He peeks inside the box, but finds nothing. "Hmm... guess it wouldn't hurt to leave something and do my good deed for the day." He pulls out an American five dollar bill and stuffs it in the box. "Alrighty then! Time for some explor'n." The young man made his way down the stone steps, whistling while he walked.

"_I never would have thought that such a place existed here this entire time. I really shouldn't be surprised. I've seen stranger things after all." _He thinks to himself. Then he grins. _"This place will make the perfect place to test my new found powers out."_

A few moments later, the maiden of the shrine returned. Reimu Hakurei. She walked up to the donation box and then began to look around her in an urgent fashion.

"_What is this feeling?"_ She thought with a worrisome expression. She then spots something in the donation, turning her frown upside down. "Oh how nice!" Forgetting about the ill feeling she just had, Reimu quickly opens the box and takes out the paper money that had been placed there. Her crown quickly turned right back into a frown. "Damn it! At least leave currency I can actually use!" She stuffs the cash into her pocket and storms into the shrine.

Night was descending upon Gensokyo as the young man from the outside world wondered a dark forest.

"Yup. I think it is safe to assume that I am totally lost." the man said.

Things could be heard creeping around the forest floor and navigating through the tree tops. The man simply stood where he was, contemplating on where he should go and giving no heed to the sounds the denizens of the forest were making. Suddenly the man jumped up in surprise.

"The fuck! Get off!" The man began swotting at his pant leg as something crawled underneath. After a few swats, a rather large bug fell to the ground and then began to scurry off. "Damn thing." He walked up to the fleeing bug and attempted to squash it until a voice called out to him.

"Hey that's my friend you're bothering!" A girls voice echoed around him. His eyes quickly scanned the area, searching for the source of the childish voice. He quickly caught sight of a girl standing on one of the branches of a tree. "Yo, outsider." The girl said, giving him a two finger salute.

"Kid, ain't it a bit late for you to be out here this late at night?" The man said.

"You really are from the outside if you think I'm a kid."

"Well arnt you?"

"No!" The girl jumped into the air and did a single somersault in the air before making a perfect landing on the ground. The man gave her a slow clap. Now in better view, the man took notice of the bug like antennae sprouting from the top of her head.

"Is it Halloween in this strange place?" The man asks.

"No, dummy, I'm a bug youkai."

"A bug what now?"

"A bug youkai. In better terms you would understand; I am a monster that eats lost humans." The girl says with a cocky smirk.

"Whatever." The man says, unmoved by the girls words. "Just point me in the right direction toward some civilization. I'm tired of walking around here aimlessly."

"You're dumber than you look. I'm saying I'm going to eat you."

The man tries to hold back a laugh. "Yeah, whatever kid." The man's face suddenly turns serious as he notices the presence of a large amount of bugs surrounding him. The girls cocky smirk grew larger.

"My names Wriggle Nightbug and I can control bugs. Whats your name, human?"

"Max and I can control my hand upside your head if you don't stop bugging me and give me some damn directions."

"Its in a youkai's nature to pester humans. You're the first human from the outside world I've seen in a long time and the best part about it is that no one who would is awake to save you." Wriggle points to Max, signaling her bugs to attack him.

The bugs all charge towards Max who simply smirked. He then stomps his right foot into the ground, causing a shock wave around him, blasting away the bugs that thought to swarm him. Wriggle quickly brought her arms in front of her to shield herself from the blast. After the dust cleared, Wriggle lowered her arms and observed the area. Her bugs were scattered everywhere and some of the smaller trees were bent away from where Max stood. She then gave Max an angry glare.

"Damn. This power sure is a handful." Max said to himself.

"Hey! You said you were from the outside world!"

"I didn't say anything about where I came from, but that fact remains true."

"Then how can you use magic?"

"Magic? This ain't no magic, little bug girl. This is something beyond your understanding."

Wriggle's cocky smile returned to her face. "Heh, fine with me. I would love a good fight! I'll show you the power of bugs!" She pulls out a card from one of her pockets. "Firefly Sign: Little Bug Storm!" A swarm of bugs swarmed out of no where, obscuring her from Max's vision.

"More god damn bugs?" Max says angrily.

"Taste my danmaku!" Wriggle's voice echoed around him.

Suddenly, magic bullets shot through the curtain of bugs and toward Max. He merely glared at the bullets then swatted them away with his hands, paying no attention to the bullets that came from behind. The bullets crashed right against his back, causing him to cringe a little.

"Ouch. Those things actually sting."

Max began to dodge and weave between the bullets while the bug girl's laughter echoed through out the forest, clearly enjoying his sporadic movements. He began to concentrate some of his power into the center of his body. He then let out yet another shock wave. This time with a little more punch. The blast did not merely send the innumerable insects flying, it shredded them along with the surrounding area. Wriggle was quick to take cover behind a large rock, but the rock shattered, revealing her position.

"Shit!" She said as Max came rushing towards her. He took a swing at her, but missed his target and sent his fist into a big rock, shattering it like glass. Wriggle jumped backwards to create some space between her and Max. She then pointed at him.

"Hey! You're not suppose to hit girls!" She protested.

"A girl? I thought you were a youkai."

"I'm both!" She pulled out another spell card only to be stopped. Wriggle suddenly found herself unable to move as she was lifted in the air by some force. "W-what the hell!" She tried to shake herself free, but only managed to tire herself out. She began to moan in pain as the force around here began to slowly crush her. "S-stop!" She called out.

"I'm done playing. Are you going to tell me where I can find a large settlement of people or are you going to waste my time with your bugs?" Max was standing with his right hand held out, slowly closing it. Wriggle began to moan louder as the pain increased. "Well!" He yelled. She then pointed towards her right. "Thanks." Max then raised his extended hand into the air, raising Wriggle into the air.

"I told you where to go now let me go!" She demanded.

"Be happy you are the first bug I came across that was cute or I might have just killed you outright." Max said as he opened his free hand, forming a transparent glob.

He then threw the glob at Wriggle as she floated helplessly in the air. The projectile made a sound like that of a thin sheet of metal that was being shaken as it journeyed towards it's target. Crashing into Wriggle's stomach, the projectile produced a rippling explosion that distorted the space around it. Wriggle screamed as she was sent spiraling into the dark forest.

"Perhaps you will choose your opponent better next time, eh?" Max gave the fallen girl a two finger salute then proceeded towards the direction of the only place in Gensokyo with a large group of humans; the Human Village.

The following afternoon...

"Alright. I'm pissed."

Max was still wondering around to dark forest, having become lost once again. The tree tops blocked much of the sun's rays, only slightly illuminating the forest floor.

"I'm crushing that bug girl the next time I see her." He says under an angry breath.

"_More"_

Max turns around to a voice of a little girl. He sees nothing then turns back around, continuing on his path.

"_More. More."_

He proceeds to ignore the strange girls voice, instead concentrating on finding a way out of the forest.

"_Spread more."_

"Seriously, shut the fuck up." Max swings around and chucks one of his transparent projectiles out into the forest, destroying a tree or two.

"_Madness!"_

Max turned back around to the voice. No matter where he looked the voice always appeared to be right behind him. A trickle of sweat ran down his face.

"Alright. This forest is creeping me the fuck out."

"The Forest of Magic tends to do that, but making one hear voices? That might be something else."

Max turned to the direction of a more mature voice, spotting a tall and slender girl.

"_Now here's a cutey." _He thought.

The girl walked out from the shadows. She had two dolls sitting on her shoulders. She herself was holding onto a book.

"I sensed a strange and unnatural energy last night. I came out here to investigate it and in all but five minutes I find the source of that foul energy. Thanks for sticking your head out for me to catch just now." The girl says while smiling cheerfully. The dolls on the girls shoulders began to float in front of her. She raises here hands out in front of her, letting her fingers dangle. "My name is Alice Margatroid. Nice to meet you." Suddenly, the two floating dolls followed by dozens more dolls from the forest sprang towards Max.

Max jumps backwards in surprise. "I'm Max and fuck you to." Max tosses a rippling glob at the attacking dolls, but the small targets quickly dodged. The dolls moved in splendid organization as they surrounded him.

"Who the hell attacks with dolls?" Max questions.

"I do." Alice answers with pride.

One of the dolls jumped towards Max. Thinking nothing of it, he swung at the doll. As soon as his fist connected, the doll exploded. Another doll jumped into the smoke filled center and exploded once it latched onto Max who was too busy holding his injured hand to defend. A few more latched onto him, exploding in session. Max then fell to his knees, coughing from all the smoke and injured from the explosions. The dolls remained in their position around him, preparing to move at the slightest twitch of Alice's finger.

"Sorry, I'm usually not so harsh against an opponent from the outside, but there is this certain wrongness about you that makes me not want to hold back." Alice said, holding a stern look and not moving an inch from her current position.

"Well thanks, bitch." Max says while coughing up smoke.

"May I ask where a boy like you from the outside world got a hold of that strange power?"

"An ancient city."

"There is many ancient cities in the world. Be more specific." Alice demanded.

"Heh, the city I'm talking about doesn't exist in this world."

"What do you mean?"

Max, after catching his breath, began to get back on his feet. The strange energy Alice had felt before suddenly grew without warning. It had tripled in intensity, causing her heart to waver.

"Don't move or you will be hugged by more of my dolls." Alice commanded.

Max stood upright then brushed himself off. "Look. I gave you some free shots at me. Now can you kindly take me to the nearest town?" Max gave Alice an unkindly glare.

One of Alice's fingers slightly twitched. The dolls that surrounded Max dived for him. He quickly jumped up into the air to let the dolls collide with one another. He held his hands together then moved them apart, forming a larger transparent glob he had used as a projectile earlier. He then quickly threw it down at the dolls. The dolls scattered in different directions, but were not quick enough and were shredded apart from the blast created when the glob made contact with the ground.

"_Damn. What kind of power is that?"_ Alice thought.

Alice used the two dolls that survived the blast to shield her face from the gust of wind made from Max's attack. Max dived towards her. Alice then jumped out of the way as his fist smashed into the ground where she was just standing, putting a large dent into the ground. Max engaged her in melee combat while she went on the defensive. She knew she wasn't good at close range, but she was nimble enough to dodge his punches. Another glob formed in Max's hand, attempting to slam it into her stomach, but missed. Max then cried out, letting out a shock wave and sending Alice flying backwards. She bit her teeth as she struggled to catch herself in mid air, but was suddenly caught by an invisible force that slammed her down, letting out a yelp of pain as she made contact with the ground. She quickly got back up on her feet and pulled out a card. Max stared at her, waiting to see what she would do.

"Red Sign: Doll Mira Ceti!" Alice calls out.

Max braced himself for the incoming attack. Both Alice's two remaining dolls took to the air. He decided to ignore the dolls and go straight for the doll master. He took off sprinting towards Alice, but was obstructed by powerful danmaku that were aimed at him. He jumped backwards to avoid to shots as they pelted the ground, leaving holes where they hit. The dolls continued to fire upon him as he tried to find a suitable path to his target. After spending a good half a minute trying to get close to Alice but failing, he began to throw his transparent globs at her in rapid session, forcing her to begin dodging as well. Getting frustrated, Max reached out towards Alice and grabbed a hold of her with his telekinetic power, yanking her closer towards him.

"What is this?" Alice panicked as her spell card ended. She tried to fly away, but it only slowed her approach towards Max.

Max, now free from the barrage of danmaku, kept a hold on Alice with his power and began to slowly make his way towards her while she struggled to pull herself from his psychic grip. His mouth formed into a dark grin.

"You feel that, girl? That would be fear that is overtaking you." Max clenched one of his fists, causing the ground around him to crack under his small surge of power. "You made a huge mistake in attacking me. I had no attention in fighting you either. All I wanted was some god damn directions. Is that too much to-" Max stopped mid sentence as he notices a card in between Alice's fingers. "Shit!" He quickly looked up to see the two dolls he had forgotten about flying towards him. The dolls waste no time in opening fire on their master's opponent.

"Demonic Control: Return Inanimateness!" Alice calls out.

Max loses his grip on Alice as he clumsily dodges the danmaku. He reaches out for the dolls and grabs them both with his telekinetic power. He then violently crushes the dolls in an attempt to break them. Not able to pay attention to too many opponents at once, Alice was able to close in on him and deliver a punch to his abdomen. Being more surprised from the amount of strength the girl was able to muster behind her punch then in pain from the actual hit, he jumped backwards to give himself space and time to collect himself. Alice does not let up on her offense and fires off some danmaku of her own as her dolls quickly rejoined the fight. Max desperately avoided the shots fired at him, but he started to take hits more and more as time went on. One of the dolls stopped firing it's danmaku and dived for him. He thrust his open palm forward at the doll, sending a shock wave rippling through the air, hitting the doll and shredding it to pieces. Max then received a flying kick to the side of his head. Before Alice could jump away from his reach, he grabbed a hold of her arm then threw her over his shoulder and slamming her into the ground. Blood flew out of her mouth from the impact. He went to stomp on her chest, but suddenly felt something hug him from behind. Alice quickly got up and jumped back.

"You fu-" Max's words were overtaken by the sound of the violent explosion that engulfed him.

The explosion the doll produced was much larger than the others and even Alice wasn't able to escape the blast without injury. She was sent tumbling backwards across the ground until the trunk of a tree stopped her. She sat where she was for a moment to catch he breath, observing the desolated area.

"_I didn't expect that boy to give me so much trouble." _Alice began to think to herself._ "I should have came more prepared. At least that new explosive material I got from Marisa worked like a charm."_ She leans her back up against the tree to rest. _"But that power... that power he used to enhance his strength and to attack me with like that was not magic. Just thinking about it..." _Alice clenched her chest._ "Creeps me out."_

The dark power Alice felt from the man vanished with the explosion. She stumbled to her feet, brushing off any dirt she saw on her.

"_Since he won't be talking now, if ever, I'll just have to investigate his body." _Alice thought.

She made her way towards where her doll detonated, swiping her hand back and fourth to blow away the smoke and dust that still lingered in the air. As the smoke cleared, she spotted Max standing hunched over. She smiled.

"Not only did you live, but you're awake. I'm impress-" Alice was suddenly frozen in place. As quickly as the presence of that dark energy vanished, it returned and this time it was was far greater. "What the hell is this... What the hell is your power. Tell me!" She said with a hint of fear and frustration in her voice.

What smoke was left was blown away by a gust of wind that seemed to emit from Max. His jacket and shirt were both gone, leaving his rather toned upper body exposed. In a normal situation Alice might have blushed, but the evil power that engulfed her began to throw her thoughts into utter chaos.

Max straightened his back, revealing a medallion dangling from a chain around his neck. His eyes looked upon Alice, making her shiver with his glare. An ominous aura formed around him. The aura was that of blood red tamed flames that emitted from him and a strange symbol on his medallion began to glow. Alice took notice of the medallion. It took her all her strength just to speak.

"S-so that is the source of your power." Alice said, fumbling her words. Alice takes a step back from the frightful man. _"Why am I so consumed with fear? If I can just get a hold of that medallion I could-"_ Alice train of thought crashes as she finally recognizes the symbol on the medallion. She remembered seeing it in a book she had once found, a book that she could never finish. She ended up having the book destroyed because it gave her nightmares that nearly drove her mad. "Impossible! It can't be!" Alice shrieks. Max could only laugh at her horrible revelation.

"Well ain't this a surprise? You know what this symbol is don't you?" Max begins to walk towards Alice while she backed away in fear while holding onto her grimoire for dear life and shacking her head in denial. "Well that settles it. I was just about to let you off the hook for being a cute girl, but now that you know what kind of power I have at my command, you have to die."

"That is not your power. You're insane if you think otherwise." Alice said as she backs up into a tree.

"Insane? Babe, from the looks of it, it is you who is insane." Max said as his smile turned into a sadistic grin.

If one were to look at Alice's face, it indeed did look like she was about to snap at any moment. She was wide eyed and her face was deathly pale. Her vision was distorting as she continued to stare at the medallion. She thought the headache she had was just from the battle before, but it was getting much worse the longer she looked at the medallion. She tried to close her eyes, but the image of that nightmarish symbol was now burned into her mind.

Max stopped just within arms length from Alice for a moment, crossed his arms and then began to think. "You know. I was going to kill you, but I think I'll try something else on you. Nighty night, Alice. If only we had met under better circumstances."

Alice's thoughts ran wild. _"I need to warn the gap youkai. I need to get away from the-"_

"Don't worry. This won't take long." Max said, letting out a sinister chuckle.

Alice was completely petrified with terror as Max drew closer. Alice's vision turned black as he covered her eyes with the palm of his hand. In that instant she let out a terrible scream that echoed through out the forest as she was sealed within her deepest nightmares.

Alice found herself in a dark and twisted world. Her mouth was sown shut and her eye lids had been cut out, forcing her to observe the atrocities that she was being forced to commit. She was slaughtering all those who she cared for. The shrine maiden. The which. Her mother and others. Every single one she was being forced to rend to pieces with her army of dolls. All of her friends would either curse her out or beg for mercy as her dolls would slowly tear their limbs off or flay them. Blood ran down from her mouth every time she tried to open it to beg for forgiveness. Even if she could speak, her voice would have been drowned out by the agonizing screams of all the innocent people she was butchering. Alice could only watch as her body moved against her will. Puppet strings were attached to the insides of each of her bloodied wrists as well as her feet and they led up into the black sky where the other ends of the strings were attached to the fingers of a female hand with demonic like nails. The blackness covered the person holding the strings except for the arm and the two strange eyes that seemed to just float in the sky, looking down at it's puppet. A horribly distorted laugh of a young girl could be heard echoing across the twisted world. Tears ran down Alice's face as she loses all hope of ever getting out of this never ending nightmare.


	2. Chapter Two: Wavering Peace

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopefully nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Rinnosuke Morichika was cleaning up his shop after two of his so called customers decided to fight over one of the items he had in his inventory. He was interrupted by a shirtless young man who stumbled through the door.

"Finally!" The man cried out. "Out of that fucking forest at last!' The man clasped his hands in the air as if thanking the gods.

Rinnosuke cleared his throat. "Can I help you, young man?"

"Yeah. Um... wear am I exactly?"

"This would be my shop. My name is Rinnosuke Morichika. It appears you are from the outside world."

"Yeah. The names Max." Max gave the shop a glance around. "Some of this stuff is from the outside."

"Yes. Some things from your world make their way here into our world."

"Have any clothes from the outside world by any chance?"

"Indeed I do. Please wait here while I go get them."

Max walked around the shop while he waited, picking up items to observe before putting them back in their original place. Suddenly, a girl in a strange black and white dress with a black pointy hat came barging into the shop.

"Hey! Rinnosuke! Have you seen..." The girl spotted Max. She couldn't help but stare at the rather attractive shirtless boy. "Well well well. Is it a shirtless party in here, ze? Why wasn't I invited?" She smirked.

"Uh, no." Max said nervously. "The shop dude is getting me a shirt and, uh..."

"Wow! That's a nice trinket you've got there, ze." She said as she rushed up to Max, her eyes on his medallion. "The names Marisa, by the way."

"Max and don't touch it." Max said as he backed away as she tried to reach for the medallion.

"Oh come on now. I'll let you touch something of mine if you let me touch it." Marisa says as she continues to reach out for the medallion.

"No means no." Max said as he continued to walk backwards, getting more nervous from the girls creepy approach.

"Come on now. Don't be shy, ze."

Marisa then quickly lunged for the medallion. Max tried to jump back, but tripped over something that was left on the floor. He fell backwards as Marisa fell over top of him.

"Gotcha now!" Marisa said in triumph.

"Marisa, please don't molest my customers." Rinnosuke said as he returned from the back room with a couple of shirts and a jacket made in the outside world.

"Hey, Rinnosuke! Check out this thing he's got." Marisa said, her hands being held by Max, keeping her from touching the medallion.

"_Yuh dumb blond..." _Max thought. _ "She might find out this ain't just any medallion if she touches it. Or worse..."_

Marisa got up off of Max then helped him to his feet. Rinnosuke handed Max a t-shirt, long sleeve shirt and a jacket.

"I thought you could use a jacket as well. Spring won't be here for a few more weeks." Rinnosuke said.

"Thanks." Max said as he puts on the clothe. "What do I owe you?"

"Maybe you can feed my friend here her curiosity and tell her about that medallion you have. We'll call it even."

"Letting me borrow it will do." Marisa said gleefully.

"There's nothing to say about it. It's just that. A medallion." Max said.

"A medallion you can let me borrow?" Marisa said.

"And no I'm not gonna let you borrow it."

"Then how about telling us how you got here. By the look of your pants, you've been through a lot." Rinnosuke said.

"I got through some opening of a weird barrier. Next thing I know, I found myself next to a shrine."

"That would be my good friend's shrine. Reimu." Marisa said happily.

"I take it you got lost in the forest?" Rinnosuke asked.

"Yeah. For almost three frikin days to." Max said angrily as he remembered the trouble he had getting through the forest.

"Well. For a human from the outside world, you must be something special, ze" Marisa said, patting Max on the back.

"Lets just say my days in track n field back in school came to my rescue." Max said.

"I get it!" Marisa said, patting Max on the back some more.

"Well how about you, Marisa? What brings you here to my shop again, as if I needed to ask..." Rinnosuke asked.

"Oh, well..." Marisa put her finger to her chin, remembering her reason for coming. "Oh! I remember, ze! I was wondering if Alice had stop by here?"

Max's body tightened up. _"She knew her? Fuck me..." _Max curses at himself.

"Nope. I haven't seen her since you wrecked her giant doll she was making."

"I thought she was up to no good I swear, ze!"

"Well did you check her house by any chance?

"Yeah, but she wouldn't answer the door." Marisa let her head droop down. "Maybe shes still mad at me, ze?"

"I doubt she had forgiven you so quickly, it has only been three days. Well anyways..." Rinnosuke turned to Max. "I assume you want to get back to your world as soon as possible."

"Not quite. I was hoping to get some directions to a town that I believe exists here."

"The Human Village?" Rinnosuke asked.

"Why there? You want to stay there or somthin?" Marisa questioned.

"Lets just say I'm here on vacation." Max answered.

"Vacation, eh?" Marisa looked at Max with playful suspicion.

"How did you even find out about Gensokyo?" Rinnosuke asked.

"Saw it in a dream."

"A dream?" Rinnosuke said, not at all surprised with Max's answer. "Yes, that tends to happen."

"Well if it's the Human Village you want to go to, I can take you their in a flash, ze." Marisa said while giving Max a thumbs up.

"Whats the catch?" Max said, clearly suspicious of her motives.

"Of course there's no catch!"

"I beg to differ..." Rinnosuke said as he returns to cleaning his shop.

"Don't be like that, ze!"

"Alrighty then, can we go now?" Max asked with an impatient sigh as he made his way to the door. "Thanks for the clothe." He said before going outside.

"See ya!" Marisa said as she followed Max.

"Marisa!" Rinnosuke called out.

Marisa pulled herself back into the shop.

"Go easy on him..."

Marisa only grinned then left the shop. Rinnosuke sighed.

"Alrighty then, how do we get there?" Max asked as he resisted the urge to shiver from the sudden cold wind.

Marisa grabbed a broom that was leaning against the wall of the shop then sat on it.

"Hop on, ze!"

Max simply stared at her, having no words for her.

"Haven't you ever flown on a broom before?" She asked, knowing well enough he probably hasn't.

"Can't say I have." Max said.

"Well come on then. It'll be fun"

"_She's fucking with me." _Max thought as he sat behind Marisa. The moment he sat down the broom quickly rose into the air. "Holy shit!" Max cried out as he rapped his arms around Marisa in a bid to not fall off.

Marisa blushed a little. "Hey now. I'm the one driving so I can't have you getting frisky with me."

Max kept his grip on her. "Whatever. Just don't go too," The moment Marisa got to her ideal altitude, she took off with incredible speed. "Fast!" Max cried out with all the breath in his lungs.

Rinnosuke could hear Max's scream slowly vanish into the distance. He chuckled a little before returning to his cleaning.

It didn't take Max and Marisa long to arrive at the Human Village. When they landed, Max was still holding onto Marisa with all his might., showing no signs of letting go.

"You know? At first you didn't look like the affectionate type, but now I can see I was wrong, ze." Marisa said.

"You... did that... on purpose... bitch." Max said, his body shaking a bit.

"But wasn't it fun?"

"No! I nearly fell off once! Fuck!" Max slowly let go of Marisa and got off the broom.

"Come on now. Don't tell me it was your first time flying, ze." Marisa said with a devilish smile.

"On a broom? Yes. Yes it was."

"Well anyways, this is the Human Village. Nice, eh?"

"Looks like your typical old time village to me." Max says as he began to walk around.

"Well of course, ze." Marisa said, following right behind Max. "If you plan on staying here in Gensokyo, this would be the place for you to settle in. The people are nice to."

Max listened to some of the villagers as they loudly argued with one another.

"They don't seem like it."

"Oh, yeah. You see, about that... for some reason everyone here has been having nightmares so everyone is all cranky."

"Nightmares?" Max said with alarm in his voice.

"Yup. Ever since three days ago, ze."

"_Are you frikin kidding me? My powers can't be leaking out that badly. Can they?" _Max thought, a trickle of sweat forming on his forehead.

"Oh? Whats wrong? Your face got all pale." Marisa said while studying Max's face. "Oh don't you worry about those nightmares. Its more than likely just some darn nightmare causing youkai, ze."

"Oh is that right?" Max said with a sigh of relief.

"Yup. I was actually looking for my friend Alice to help me and another friend find it." Marisa stopped walking. "Well here's my stop." Max stops and turns to face her. "I needed to come here to get some supplies. Someone around here is bound to let you stay with them for the night. I'd let you stay at my place while you got accustomed here, but Alice would flip, ze."

"You don't live in the village?"

"Nope, Forest of Magic."

"Oh fuck that place."

"Its not that bad once you get use to it. Well, good luck. Let me know if any youkai bother you, okay? I'll pump them full of danmaku for yuh, ze." Marisa said while giving Max a thumbs up.

"Will do." Max walks off as he waves goodbye to Marisa.

"_Finally... maybe now I can get to work on honing my powers and gaining better control over them... all without bringing any unwanted attention to myself... hopefully." _Max thought to himself as he continued to walk down the stone path. He looked around him, observing all the people and old style buildings. _"Since there's apparently some nightmare causing youkai inflicting the land, I can safely feed off the resulting distress." _A dark grin formed on his face. _"And maybe I'll ad to the people's problems and inflict them with some madness." _

The following night...

Max was wondering just outside the Human Village, hugging himself to help keep warm. "Damn it's chilly. Wasn't this bad in that damn forest..." Max continued to walk around aimlessly in till he spotted some lights in the distance. Having nothing better to do, he made his way towards the lights. Upon getting closer, he realized the lights were coming from a food stand. A small girl with light pink bird like wings was behind the counter cooking while another girl with long light violet hair sat in one of the stools, her head lying on the counter. Max's nose caught a whiff of the food that was being cooked and decided to give the food a try.

"What do you serve here?" Max asked as he sat in one of the vacant seats.

The bird girl jumped up a little in surprise. "Oh! A sane customer!" Only the best grilled lamprey in all of Gensokyo and probably the world." The girl sitting at the other end of the stand held up a bottle without lifting her head. "Oh, and some sake of course. Will you be having any?"

"Never had lamprey before. Guess it wouldn't hurt to try some." Max says as he pulls out his wallet.

"Okay, coming right up!"

Max tossed the girl some Japanese Yen and then sat patiently. The long haired girl turned her head to face him, eying him up and down. She then staggered up out of her seat then sat back down in the seat next to him.

"You from the outside, arnt you?" The girl asks, her speech slurred.

"Uh, huh." Max said, not making any eye contact with the girl.

"I could tell because of the clothe you are wearing you see..." She said, her head slightly swaying from side to side.

"Your clothe looks a bit like those from the outside also. You come from the outside to?"

"No no no." She says as she laughs. "I'm from here and so is she." She points to the cook with one hand and holds onto Max's jacket to keep balance with the other. The cook waves back with a smile.

"Really? Her to? Shit, I would have never guessed." Max says in a clearly sarcastic tone.

"Hey now... don't get all smart with me. Now here, drink up." She sets her bottle of sake in front of Max. "Welcome to Gensokyo."

"_Sweet. Forgot I wasn't in America anymore. Damn age laws..."_ Max thought as he picked up the bottle and took a big gulp. _"Been stressed out ever since getting lost in that god damn forest."_

"That a boy!" The girl says as she gives Max a few hard pats to the back. "I'm Mokou by the way." She says as she places her forehead on Max's shoulder, appearing ready to pass out at any moment.

"Max."

"Hi Max!" Mokou says happily.

"I'm Mystia." The cook said, sitting down a plate of a large grilled lamprey and a bottle of sake. "Sorry for the wait, took me longer to cook that big one."

"Ah ha! More sake for us!" Mokou grabs the bottle and takes a drink, handing it to Max after her drink.

"Don't you think you had enough for one night?" Mystia asks as she began to clean up.

"Hell no! Keep them coming. I had a rough day today."

"Oh yeah? What did you do?" Max asked, not actually caring.

"I had to help keep that damn vampire from getting near the village. I lost count on how many times she killed me..."

"Vampire? You telling me there's frikin vampires here?" Max said, nearly spitting up the food he had in his mouth.

"Two to be exact." Mystia said.

"Yepper. And they both live in a mansion." Mokou said.

"A mansion... where is this mansion?"

"That direction." Mokou points to their left. "In the middle of a big lake."

"But you shouldn't go there. Its really dangerous there for normal humans." Mystia warned.

"Oh I'm sure Max here could handle it. He's a man after all. Right?" Mokou said while shaking Max's shoulder.

"Damn straight." Max said, beginning to feel a little drunk himself. "In fact, I think I'll check the place out myself tomorrow." Max finished his meal then gulped down some more sake.

"Yeah! True man right here! More sake for this man! Come on!" Mokou slapped the counter a few times, trying to hurry Mystia.

By the time the night was over, Mystia was able to close up her shop after Max and Mokou finally left for the village. They walked with an arm over each others shoulder as they chanted 'Death to Kaguya!' over and over again.


	3. Chapter Three: Intrusion

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopefully nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"Mokou! Explain why this boy was passed out under the table?" Keine Kamishirasawa, the Human Village's teacher and guardian, stormed into the room with Max in tow, yanking on one of his ears.

Mokou had passed out sitting with her head lying on a garbage bin that she was hugging to her chest. She slowly lifted her head then glanced at Max. "Oh... him? He followed me home..." She said as she sat her head back on the garbage bin.

"Bullshit. After setting fire to that two tailed cat-"

"So it was you two who did that to the poor thing?" Keine interrupted Max, pulling harder on his ear.

"Ow ow ow ow. I did nothing. She's the one who did it. All I did was laugh." Keine pulled harder on his ear. "Ah, damn! You're going to rip the damn thing off!"

"Mokou... you can't be drinking at a time like this. If that vampire were to break out of her home and come here again, I wouldn't be able to stop her myself." Keine sighs, still holding onto Max's ear. "The entire village is on edge because of all the nightmares everyone is having, me included. The children are having it even worse. Some of them refuse to even leave their homes now... Mokou!"

Mokou quickly lifted her head. "I'm listening..."

"The nightmares are getting worse, Mokou. I went to the shrine maiden, but she hasn't been able to find who or whatever is causing the nightmares."

"Alright, alright. I'll start looking around as well." Mokou said, slowly standing up.

"Thank you, Mokou." Keine said happily.

"Yeah yeah. See you around, Max." Mokou said as she slides the door to the outside open then exited.

"Peace." Max said as he held up the peace sign with his fingers.

"As for you..." Keine released Max's ear then faced him. "This isn't a good time for someone from the outside world to be here."

"What makes you think I'm from the outside?" Max said as he rubbed his aching ear.

"Because it is quite obvious that you are." Keine moved her face closer to Max's.

"_Damn, she's pretty..." _Max blushed a little.

"Your eyes..." Keine said.

"Yes, strange color for a human. I know..."

"No, no that's not it." Keine moved even closer to his face.

"Then what is it?" Max's face redden even more.

Keine stared at him for a moment before answering. "They have a strange glow."

"Um... yeah... so I've been told." Max grew nervous. "_Shit. This ain't good. I need to get out of here. Um..." _Max placed his hands on Keine's waist, pulling her closer to him. She looked at him in surprise, blushing slightly. "You said earlier that you were on edge... maybe I can relieve some of that edge for you?" He said, sweat running down the side of his face. Keine's jaw dropped. She then smiled sweetly then tilted her head back and with one well placed headbutt, Max was on the floor.

About a half hour later out in the wilderness...

"Jeez... she almost cracked my damn skull." Max began rubbing his forehead as he continued to walk. "Where the hell is that lake?" He looked up into the sky. "_Hmm... the clouds are getting darker and darker every day. Is it my presence or just the way things are here? Ah, I can't tell for shit." _Max swiped his fingers through his hair. "_Well it seems like there's some powerful vampires in this place. I'll have to go and break their sanity," _He chuckled a bit. "_Then sit back and watch the fun."_

Max continued walking for about an hour until he came upon the edge of a large misty lake.

"It's about god damn time..." Max stared out into the misty lake. "In the center, right? Shit... how am I going to get there? I suck at flying and all this mist would not help. This is such a pain in the ass. Oh well, if I just fly straight I should be-" He suddenly felt something touch his behind. He quickly turned around, his hand covering his pant's back pocket. "The hell? Where my wallet go?" Anger flared up within him. "Who's there damn it?" Only the wind through the trees answered him. "Fine then. Be that way."

Max swiped his hand in front of him, sending out a strong shock wave with a loud bang. The wave rippled out in a wide cone in front of him, picking up dust and bending the trees, leaving cut marks on them. Not waiting for the dust to settle, Max made his way through the ravaged trees, looking for any signs of life. After a moment of looking around, he sensed fear in the air. Following the feeling led him to a large boulder. Using his telekinetic power, he lifted the boulder into the air. He saw nothing behind the boulder, but the fear he was sensing got stronger.

"The hell...?" Max said. He was about to set the boulder back down in till he spotted small footprints in the grass that appeared to vanish then reappear, leading away from him. "Oh, so that's how it is." He threw the boulder to the side then rushed out towards the footprints, reaching out with his hand. He then grabbed a hold of something, revealing three little girls with fairy like wings in front of him.

"Let go of my head!" One of the little girls cried out while trying to break Max's grip.

"Sunny, I think we've been caught." The fairy girl with long straight black hair said.

"You think?" The fairy with short gold hair said while still struggling.

"The hell are you three supposed to be?" Max asked, still sporting an angry look.

"We're fairies you idiot now let go!" The fairy named Sunny yelled. Max tightened his grip. "Ow ow ow!

"Fairies? Well this place certainly is a mystical fucking wonderland now ain't it? Anyways, I believe you have something of mine..." Max said as he squeezed Sunny's head harder.

"It's going to break! It's going to break!" Sunny yells as she flails wildly.

"We found it first!" The fairy with curly blond hair protested.

"It was in my pocket you little shit." Max said.

"Um... Luna? I think you should just give it back to him. Didn't you just see what he did?"

"Star! Help me here!" Sunny cried out.

"No way! He'll kill me!" Star said.

"Okay fine." Luna pulled out Max's wallet then pulled out all the things that were in it. "You get the wallet. We get what is inside."

"How about no?" Max said.

"You're being greedy." Luna said.

"I'm about to crush your friend's head in a minute." Max raises Sunny off the ground, who had already fainted from his painful grip.

"Fine. You get the money. We keep whatever this is." Luna said. She held up a square plastic wrapper with something circular inside.

"What is it?" Star asked.

Max dropped Sunny then laughed out loud. "Oh please. You girls have absolutely no use for that right now."

Luna ripped the plastic wrapper and pulled out the circular object. "Oh! It looks like one of those balloon things from the outside world!"

"No you idiot." Max said. Luna then placed her mouth on the object then blew into it, forming a long balloon. Max face palmed.

"That's so cool!" Star clapped happily.

"What's so cool?" Sunny said as she struggled to her feet.

"Such a waste..." Max said as he walked up to Luna, snatching his wallet then proceeding back to the lake's edge.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Sunny said, chasing after Max with the other two fairies right behind her.

"Is there a mansion in the middle of this lake?" Max asked as he looked out into the mist.

"Uh, yeah. " Sunny said.

"Good to hear." Max said.

"Why would you want to go there? You going to try and get inside?" Sunny asked.

"If you want in the mansion you will have to get through the gate guard." Star said.

"I don't plan on being seen." Max replied.

"So, you are going to sneak in there? Hah! Good luck with that. Even if you got passed the gate guard, there's that maid you have to look out for." Sunny said.

"I'm good at sneaking around." Max's face turned gloomy. "_I have my time spent in that dreaded city to thank for that." _He thought. His face then lit up. "Oh, that's right. You girls can turn yourselves invisible. Is that just something you fairies can do?"

"Actually," Sunny crossed her arms then stuck her chest out. "That was me. I can control the refraction of light."

"I can increase and decrease the level of sound." Luna said.

"And I can sense animate objects from far away." Star said.

Max looked at the girls for a moment. His lips then formed into a dark smile. "Perfect..."

"Eh?" The three fairies said, looking all confused.

"Here's the deal." Max says as he lowers himself to the fairies eye level. "You girls help me get into the mansion and I'll forgive you for taking my wallet."

The fairies look at each other then back at Max. "No way! I heard the mistress of the mansion has been in a bad mood lately. If she catches us trespassing again, she might not let us live this time!" Sunny whined. The other two fairies nodded in agreement. Max simply gave them an oppressing stare. The fairies began to shiver as fear began to take hold of them. "Alright! We'll help, but only for a little while!" Sunny panicked. Luna and Star gave her an objectionable stare. Max smiled then stood back up.

"Alrighty then. Let's get a move on." Max said.

Max and the fairies arrived in front of the gate to the mansion.

"Holy shit. This is one hell of a place they got here." Max said. He walked up to the girl who was standing next to the gate entrance. The girl had long scarlet hair and wore a green beret and dress. "This is the gate guard? Look at her. She's frikin sleeping standing up."

"She tends to do that from time to time." Star said.

"Well whatever. Let's go in." Max said.

They walk up to the front entrance of the mansion. As they got closer the doors opened and a maid with silver hair walked out, heading for the gate. Max turned around to stare.

"Now that's an ass I'd like to tap. Hot damn!" Max said, getting all wild up.

"Hurry before the door closes!" Sunny said.

The group ran into the mansion. The moment Max ran in, his body froze.

"_What is this insane destructive power I'm sensing?" _Max thought.

"What's wrong?" Luna asked.

"It's nothing..." Max said as he began to walk, the fairies close behind him. "I heard there was two vampires here is that right?"

"Yeah. The mistress of this place and her little sister." Sunny said.

"Don't tell us you want to fight them?" Luna said.

"No." Max replied.

"Then what are you going to do?" Star asked.

"Let's just look for the oldest vampire first." Max said.

After walking around for a while, they came to a set of black wooden doors.

"So she's in here?" Max asked.

"Yeah, if she wasn't anywhere else in the mansion then she must be sleeping." Sunny said, the other two fairies nodding in agreement.

"Of course. It's day time." Max opened one of the doors then slipped in.

"Uh... are you sure about this?" Sunny said as she followed him. The other two fairies held on close to Sunny.

Max ignored her. He walked up to the side of a large magnificent bed. He then stared down at the girl that was sleeping in the middle of it. The girl had short light blue hair and a pair of bat like wings on her back. She wore nothing but a thin sleeveless shirt and panties. Her sleeping face was full of distress.

Max had a disappointed expression. "_Not only is the vampire a girl, she's a frikin little girl. Not only that, she's not the source of that radical power I'm feeling." _Max thought. He then noticed the fairies were looking at him strangely. "What?" He asked.

"Pervert." All three said.

"Oh shut up and let's go." Max said as he made his way out of the bedroom.

"Where we going now?" Sunny asked.

"To find the younger vampire." Max said.

"What?" The three panicked.

"You heard me. Let's go." Max said.

"No way! The younger sister will kill us for sure!" Sunny protested. Luna and Star nodded in agreement.

Max stopped right before the stairs. "Sounds like she's more scarier than the older one."

"She is..." Star said.

"They keep her locked up in the basement." Luna said.

"Really? Then why are we up here? Let's go." Max began to walk down the stairs. Sunny and Star glared at Luna before following him.

They arrived in front of a black metal door. Max opened it to find cold stone steps leading down into the darkness.

"We're not going. It's too scary down there." Sunny said, Luna and Star nodding their head.

"For fuck sake fine. I'm not going to argue with you. Just stay up here in till I get back." Max made his way down to the basement. The fairies stuck out their tongues at his back.

Max slowly descended into the basement of the mansion.

"_Do not be afraid. Do not hesitate. You're power is yours to command, to control..." _The distorted voice of a girl echoed in Max's mind.

"Oh great. The freaky voice is back..." Max said under his breath.

He came to another door at the end of the stone steps. He slowly opened it and made his way into the room which had another magnificent bed placed in the middle of it. He walked to the side and looked down at the girl who slept there. The girl had blond hair and had a set of wings, but they appeared to be made out of iron with prism shards that seemed to glow. Like her sister, she wore only a sleeveless shirt and panties. She to had a face full of distress.

"_Fucked up wings she's got there... So she's the one giving off all that power. The air around her burns and her mind seems to be weakened from all that chaotic energy flowing through her."_ Max grinned. "_It won't take much to break this girls sanity and unleash that untapped power." _He thought.

Max reached his hand out to the sleeping vampire. He goes to touch her head when suddenly a knife pierced his hand. "Gah! The hell...?" He grabbed the knife and yanked it out, throwing it to the floor. Holding onto his bloodied hand, he turned his head to the direction where the knife came from. The maid he had seen earlier was standing in the door way holding another knife.

"Be happy it was only one knife. Next it will be two. Now step away from the young mistress."

"Big mistake, babe. I'll draw from you three times what I just bled." The hole in Max's hand quickly healed.

"I do not wish to disturb the young mistress. Let us take this up stairs." The maid said, her expression remaining stern.

Max smiled. "Heh, whatever."

Max followed behind the maid as they made their way back to the main floor. They walked down the hallway leading to the front entrance. Max suddenly stopped, as did the maid.

"I don't know how you got in here, but you need to leave this place. Intruders are not taken well here." The maid said, keeping her back to Max.

"I have my ways." Max said. "As much as I like to look at your behind, would you mind showing me your face and telling me your name?"

"It is not polite to ask for someone's name without giving yours first."

"My bad. The name is Max."

The maid turned around to face him. "I am Sakuya Izayoi. Now if you may-"

"I still expect you to pay for making me bleed. Since you are a girl whose job is to serve, why don't you and me go-"

A knife suddenly flew past Max's right ear, nearly slicing it off. Max was surprised by the sudden attack. He felt his ear to check for any blood.

"I will not ask you again. Leave now or you will be forcefully removed." Sakuya said as she held up a number of knives in her hand.

Max smiled as he raised his fists, preparing to fight. "This is fine to. It gives me an excuse to accidentally tear off that sexy maid uniform of yours. I'll be ripp'n them off piece, by piece."

Sakuya stared down Max. Her eyes turned from blue to red and in that instant, Max suddenly found himself outside.

"_What the fuck was that just now? Something distorted. Was it... time?"_ Max thought. He then turned around to see Sakuya standing in front of the door way. "You..."

"Leave and do not let me catch you here again." Sakuya said before turning around to head back into the mansion. She began walking when suddenly she was frozen in place. Surprise enveloped her face. "_I... can't... move...!" _She was slowly turned around, now facing Max again.

Max looked on her with a cocky smile. "So, you can manipulate time, eh? You should be more careful when going outside the flow of time. You never know when you might run into the things that exist outside of time." A transparent blob formed in the palm of his hand. "Oh and maid girl,"

"_Damn it. What's preventing me from stopping time?" _Sakuya thought as she struggled to break free from Max's psychic grip.

"I wasn't kidding. You will repay me, one way, or another." He then tossed the blob at Sakuya.

The projectile crashed right into her stomach, sending her flying backwards into the mansion and down the hallway, startling the fairy maids and sending them into panic. She rolled a dozen times before she finally stopped, holding her stomach in pain. She quickly got up on her feet as Max sprinted his way towards her. She tossed a number of knives at him, but he merely smacked them out of the air with his hands. She then ducked as Max tried to punch her in the chest. She swiped his legs out from under him then jumped into the air, sending down a curtain of knives. Max caught himself then sent out a rippling blast with the swipe of his hand, knocking out all the knives from the air. Sakuya quickly froze time to move out of the way, placing knives to be sent at Max as she moved. Time resumed and Max wasn't able to jump out of the way in time, catching a knife in the shoulder.

"Ah! Damn bitch!" Max grabbed the knife out of his shoulder then chucked it back at Sakuya. She caught the knife then proceeded to send more at him. He then started to toss volleys of transparent blobs at her. Both quickly dodged each other's projectiles. After about a minute of sending attacks back and forth, they both stopped, showing no signs of fatigue. Sakuya then pulled out a spell card.

"_What the hell are those card things?" _Max thought.

"Illusion Image: Luna Clock!" Sakuya shouted.

Sakuya let lose a barrage of knives, sending them in all directions. Max began dodging them only to find himself surrounded by more knives that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"Shit!" Max yelled. He managed to dodge the knives, but not without receiving several cuts from just barely dodging some of them. Sakuya suddenly appeared behind him and delivered a kick to his side. He took the painful blow then spun around to kick her back, but missed. "_Damn bitch. She's going to give me just as much problems as the last one. There's no point in holding back." _He thought. He pumped himself up, increasing the amount of his dark power that ran through him, causing Sakuya to falter a little.

"_What is this feeling?" _Sakuya thought. Max then began swiping at the air, sending a number of shock waves at her. She couldn't dodge them conventionally, forcing her to teleport in order to invade the blasts. After dodging the last one, she pulled out another spell card. "Illusion Sign: Killing Doll!" She shouted. Knives scattered all around her then rushed in Max's direction. Max merely threw out another powerful shock wave, destroying the knives. "Damn it." Sakuya cursed. She teleported out of the shock wave's way, but the moment she reappeared in her new location Max quickly jumped in front of her then delivered a powerful punch to her chest, breaking a couple of her ribs. She screamed as she was sent backwards from the blow. She landed outside the front doors, tumbling across the ground a bit before coming to a stop. She spat up some blood then yelped in pain as she held her broken ribs. Max quickly appeared in front of her, holding up his palm to her face. She could only look at him with fear.

Max grinned. "Time to wonder in your nightmares, just like the other one."

Sakuya quickly shut her eyes as she felt energy swell up at the center of Max's palm, bracing herself for what was coming. She then quickly opened her eyes to the sound of a fist colliding with bone.

"Gah!" Max yelled out as he was sent to the ground after receiving a blow to the side of his face.

"Meiling!" Sakuya managed to force out, air having not yet fully returned to her lungs.

Meiling turned to Sakuya then gave her a thumbs up. "Sorry I'm late, Miss Sakuya."

"Where were you?" Sakuya asked.

"Not sleeping! I swear!" Meiling said in a panicked voice.

Max got back up off the ground, wiping the blood from his lip with his sleeve, his expression filled with anger.

"Another bitch just had to show up." Max readied himself. "I didn't come here to fight, but I'll be more than happy to beat your asses."

"Bring it big guy!" Meiling said with confidence.

"Be careful, Meiling! He's fighting to kill." Sakuya warned.

"Really? Well then I'll have to show him the terror of the Scarlet Gate Guard!" Meiling got herself into her battle pose.

Max sprinted towards Meiling with great speed, sending out a fist towards her face. She caught his fist with both of her hands but wasn't able to stop its momentum. His punch hit her in the face, knocking her backwards. She tumbled back a great distance before stopping. Max quickly turned to blast Sakuya, but only managed to put a large hole in the ground where she once was. She appeared beside Meiling, helping her to her feet.

"Ouch! That hurt!" Meiling said as blood flowed out of her nose.

"It would have been much worse if you hadn't caught his punch." Sakuya said, still holding her pained ribs. "Listen, Meiling. He's playing by his own rules. We need to be careful when fighting him."

"Gotcha." Meiling said as she returned to her battle pose. "But will you be alright, Miss Sakuya?"

"Worry about yourself! He's coming!"

Max had leaped into the air in an attempt to crush the girls. They both dived out of the way only to be sent flying from the shock wave he created as he slammed into the ground, their clothes and skin being cut in places. They quickly recovered from his attack. He threw a transparent blob at Sakuya who dodged it. Meiling attempted to engage him in hand to hand combat, but she was caught in his telekinetic grasp then tossed right at Sakuya. Sakuya dodged Meiling, who crashed into the wall of the mansion. She then pulled out a spell card.

"Buriallusion: Phantasmic Killer!" Sakuya shouted, throwing out a horde of knives.

Meiling quickly got back up then jumped towards Max, a spell card in hand. "Attack Sign: Roc Fist!" She shouted. Rainbow colored flames covered Meiling's fist. She sent her energy filled fist towards Max's head, but he caught her fist with one hand. He retaliated with a punch to her gut, causing her to spit up some blood and then tossed her back at Sakuya. A large amount of knives came bearing down upon Max. He quickly sent out a shock wave from his body, shattering the knives. Sakuya tried to shield herself from the blast, but was knocked back into the wall of the mansion. She quickly got back up then took to the air. She tossed some knives at Max as she gained altitude. She saw him just stand his ground as the knives came ever closer.

"_They're going to hit!" _Sakuya thought. She watched as the knives went through Max and hit the ground behind him. "Eh?" She watched as he seemingly vanished from her sight. _"What the hell?"_She turned her head slightly, spotting Max who was standing a bit away from where she had thrown her knives. He made no move to attack. _"What happened? Did he teleport?" _She thought. She then saw that he had a sinister smile.

"Miss Sakuya! Why did you do that?" Meiling called out to her from below.

Sakuya turned to face her. "_What the hell...?" _She could hear Meiling, but her voice was awfully distorted. Not only Meiling's voice, but all the sounds around her was warped. Her vision had also begun to waver. She held her head as it began to hurt. "_What is wrong with me?" _She thought.

"Are you okay, Miss Sakuya?" Meiling said. Sakuya only stared at her.

"_She's not okay you idiot. She's losing it." _Max thought.

Sweat poured down Sakuya's pale face as she breathed heavily. She didn't notice before, but her body was shaking as the wavering in her vision began to worsen. "_What is happening?" _She thought.

"Miss Sakuya, look out!" Meiling cried out.

Sakuya looked up to see Max diving towards here. She moved to the side to dodge his kick and then tried to stop time, but nothing happened. "What?" She said in shock. Unable to stop time, she began to desperately dodge Max's barrage of punches and kicks. "_I feel sick..." _She thought. One of Max's punches connected with her stomach, causing her to hunch over in pain. He then dropped his fists down on her back, sending her to the ground below.

"Miss Sakuya!" Meiling called out as she ran to catch the falling maid. She caught her then sat her down on the ground, allowing her to vomit. "Miss Sakuya, get a grip!" Meiling then turned her head towards Max as he floated down to the ground, glaring at him with anger. "How dare you do this to Miss Sakuya!"

"Her fault for getting in my way." Max said in an uncaring tone.

Sakuya forced herself to her feet. "I'm okay, Meiling."

"Miss Sakuya..." Meiling said with worry in her voice.

"You won't be for long." Max said as a dark red aura began to form around him. "You're already on the verge of breaking thanks to the affects of my power." The grass around him began to die as his power increased. "This fight took way too long. I'll finish this quickly."

Sakuya and Meiling prepared themselves as Max began to charge towards them. Meiling jumped out of the way to avoid his incoming strike, but Sakuya remained where she stood.

"_This can't be happening! I'm too scared to move!" _Sakuya thought.

"Miss Sakuya!" Meiling screamed.

Max took aim right for Sakuya. Meiling quickly sprinted back to Sakuya's side then pushed her out of the way. Max's fist connected with Meiling's chest, sending out a powerful shock wave at the point of contact. Meiling screamed as she was blasted backwards into the mansion wall. Sakuya was sent tumbling off to the side and into a tree. Meiling quickly got up off the ground despite the pain.

"_Miss Sakuya... I have to help Miss Sakuya..." _Meiling thought. She bled all over from the large cuts she received from the blast. "_My head really hurts... and everything is out of focus..." _She suddenly heard a loud scream. "Miss Sakuya!" She called out. Sakuya was lying on the ground holding onto her head with both hands, screaming out in terror as her sanity gave out.

Max began to laugh. "It didn't take long for her to break now did it?" He then turned to Meiling. "Your mind will break just like her's here in a minute if you keep fighting me."

A cold shiver ran down Meiling's spine. "_What do I do what do I do what do I do?" _Terror swelled up in her face. She pulled out a spell card, but before she could call out her attack, Max charged right into her, sending her through the damaged stone wall of the mansion. She tumbled down one of the hallways of the building, slamming into a wall.

"And there goes the ball game." Max said then made his way through the hole in the wall and towards Meiling. "I guess I shouldn't have come here, but curiosity got the best of me." Meiling looked up at him as he drew closer, fear ever present in her eyes. "Your sanity is already at its limit. Time to join that maid."

"_Move damn it! Move!" _Meiling thought to herself, struggling to get her body to obey her.

"What is going on down here? I can't sleep with all of you causing so much noise." An aggravated voice of a girl echoed through the hallway.

Max quickly turned around to see a small girl with bat wings standing behind him. She wore a pink mob cap and a pink dress with bright red trimming.

Meiling's face lit up. "Mistress Remilia!" She cried out in relief. She quickly stood up, but fell back to the ground, holding on to her head with both her hands as she struggled to keep her mind intact.

"My... I figured there was an intruder in my mansion, but I expected it to be the usual one, not a new face." Remilia said.

"Remilia, huh? So you're the owner of this mansion." Max said as he folded his arms.

"Remilia Scarlet, yes. And what would your name be, young man?"

"Just call me Max."

"Max? That sounds like a name from the outside world, though I suppose your attire would be the main indication. What brings a boy like you to Gensokyo?"

"I have my reasons."

"I see. But it seems that you have caused a great deal of damage to my mansion, not to mention you injured some of my servants. I'm afraid I cannot allow that to go unpunished."

"Look, little girl. I'm tired and really don't want to waste any more time dicking around here anymore. So if you don't mind, I'll call it quits and leave now."

Remilia's eyebrow twitched. "I am still tired myself. You see, I have been having quite the nightmares lately, making it difficult for me to sleep well, so now I am stressed out."

"I couldn't care less."

Remilia smiled, revealing her sharp fangs. "I think your blood would do wonders in relieving me of that stress. So why don't you stay for a little while longer?"

"You seriously want to become the fif girl I've beaten since I got here?"

"Oh I assure you, young man, that I am more powerful than all the ones you've faced put together and then sum." Remilia's expression turned more devilish as her fangs seemed to lengthen and her eyes glowed.

Max sighed. "I guess I'll have to give you the chance to prove that then." He said as he readied himself.

"Thank you. Now, shall we not waste each other's time and get right to it?"

"Ladies first."

* * *

Thanks for the reviews. Hopefully I didn't leave too many silly mistakes this time.


	4. Chapter Four: Night Fight

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopefully nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

The sun began to settle behind the horizon, taking the light with it as an eerie wind blew across Misty Lake.

"Ladies first." Max said.

Remilia did not hesitate as her wings unfolded and she took to the air with demonic speed. She just as quickly dove for Max who was just barely able to jump out of the way from the explosion that resulted from her landing.

"_Jeezus Christ she's fast!" _Max thought. Remilia sent out a barrage of human sized red danmaku towards him. He thrusted his hand out, sending out a shock wave that rippled through the projectiles, causing them to explode. Remilia flew through the smoke from the explosions and swiped at Max with her extended nails, slashing the front of his shirt. "Shit!" Max yelled out. He tried to counter with a punch, but Remilia merely swayed to the side, avoiding the blow. She then jumped up and delivered her knee into his chin, knocking him backwards. "Damn little...!" Max said. She quickly followed up with a spell card.

"Scarlet Sign: Scarlet Meister!" Remilia shouted. A burst of large red danmaku emitted from her hands.

"Shit!" Max yelled out as he tried to shield himself from the danmaku. The projectiles exploded on contact as they pelted him, causing him to grunt in pain witch each hit. Remilia showed no signs of letting up. Max moved to the side as he tried to dodge what he could, taking several hits here and there. Max threw out a shock wave towards Remilia, blowing up the danmaku. She was fast enough to avoid the rippling blast and continued on to fire her danmaku. He then began to make his way towards her as he weaved and tumbled through the horde of projectiles, throwing off several transparent blobs and shock waves as he tried to interrupt her attack, but she continued to effortlessly dodge them.

"You need to aim better, little boy." Remilia taunted. Max then reached out for her, grabbing her with his telekinetic power and canceling her spell card. "Eh?" Remilia said as she began to try and break out of his hold.

"_Damn, she's hard to hold onto." _Max thought. He then threw Remilia into the stone floor who just managed to land on all fours, cracking the floor beneath her. He rushed towards her then sent his fist at her. She caught his punch then slashed his chest with her claw, this time drawing blood. She kept up her offensive and began to relentlessly slash at Max. He tried to strike back, but she gave him no room to attack, keeping him on the defensive. He summoned up some energy at his center then released it, ending her attack and sending her flying backwards uncontrollably. She landed on the ground then bounced backwards a few times and out the front doors.

"_I need to lead him outside. My mansion has been damaged enough for one day." _Remilia thought.

Max quickly followed her. He jumped into the air and tried to deliver a flying kick only for Remilia to catch his leg then slam him into the ground. Grabbing onto his leg with both her hands, she began to spin him around in circles, causing him to get dizzy. After swinging him around a dozen times, she threw him into the front metal gate, breaking right through it. He hit the ground hard and tumbled dozens of feet before stopping himself. She didn't give him time to recover and quickly flew under him, delivering an upper cut and sending him into the air.

"Damn you!" Max cursed out as he was sent into the air. He caught himself then began to form a large transparent blob between his hands. "Eat this!" He then threw the large projectile down at Remilia.

Remilia smirked. "Critical Heart Break." A spear like aura formed in her hand. She quickly took aim then threw the red spear. The spear pierced right through the transparent blob, detonating it while the spear continued on its way towards Max. He wasn't able to dodge the incredibly fast attack so he took it head on. His body was barely able to keep it from piercing right through as it exploded on contact, knocking him out of the sky. Remilia watched in disappointment as Max hit the ground. She began to walk towards him as he struggled to his feet.

"Is this all you have to offer me, young man?" Remilia said.

Max simply stared at her. "_How can such a small girl be so powerful? I don't care what she is, this is bullshit. I'm going to have to use more power than I have ever used before and I'm not sure what kind of affects it will have on my body and mind, but there is no fucking way I'm going to let myself be beaten by this little girl." _He thought as he clenched his teeth.

"You look upset. Is something wrong?" Remilia said in a taunting voice.

"I shouldn't be. You give me a good opportunity to delve deeper into my power."

"Oh? So you were holding back. I thought we had agreed on not wasting each others' time."

"Bitch, please. You were holding back too."

"Indeed. Then I shall not hold back. I hope you don't either, young man, for your sake."

"Your ignorance of my power is what keeps your mind safe." Max said as he clenched his fists.

Remilia's expression turned into that of surprise. "_What is this?" _She thought.

Blood began to run down from one of Max's eyes as the glow in them became more apparent. Currents of red electricity ran across his body as his aura became wilder. He clenched his teeth as pain ran through out his body.

"_I felt that he was holding back some of his strength, but this much?" _Remilia thought. She then raised her hand to touch her chest. "_Is this fear I'm feeling?"_ Her surprised expression disappeared as she formed a demonic smile. "_Perfect."_

"You want a piece of me? Then come and get it, vampire girl." Max said.

"Gladly."

They both flew towards each other at great speeds, crashing into one another and knocking each other backwards while sending out a powerful gust of wind from the point of contact. They recovered then closed the distance between one another. They traded claws and fists, sending out sparks of energy with each hit. Max leaned back as Remilia tried to slash his throat. He countered by grabbing her arm and slamming her into the ground then stomping onto her chest. He tore her arm off and threw it off to the side, leaving blood gushing from the wound. She yelped in pain before sending her extended nails into his leg muscle, causing him to also yelp in pain. She jumped into the air as soon as he removed his foot, kicking him in the side of the head. They traded some more blows before Max formed a blob in his hand. It was not transparent as they were before, but a blob of what looked like glowing blood that was surrounded by a black flame. He slammed it into Remilia's stomach, sending her tumbling backwards across the ground and smashing through a couple trees before stopping herself. She dodged several more red blobs that were sent her way as she took to the air, sending down a barrage of large red danmaku. Max didn't bother to dodge them, preferring to shield himself with his hands, swatting away at the projectiles that made their way to him. He then leaped into the air, going through the danmaku and trying to punch Remilia who then bursted into a swarm of bats.

"Frikin bats." Max said as the bats enveloped him.

Remilia then reformed, along with her lost limb, on Max's back. She held onto him with all her strength then called out her attack. "Scarlet Sign: Red the Nightless Castle!" Remilia shouted. Max screamed as he was consumed in a burning red aura in the shape of a cross.

Max sent out a wave of destructive energy, throwing Remilia off his back and ending her attack. He grabbed what was left of his shirts and tore them off, revealing his medallion, which was shacking violently, the symbol on it giving off an ominous yellow glow.

"_Such a nice looking boy, for a human." _Remilia thought. The medallion then caught her attention. "_Such evil is being emitted from that medallion..."_

Max moaned in pain as blood colored energy began to rip through his skin, forming into what looked like spheres of blood all around him. "Take this!" Max yelled as he unleashed his attack, the spheres firing off towards Remilia as curving beams of dark energy. She began to quickly dodge as another group of spheres of energy formed around Max before firing at her. The entire island shook as the ground was pelted from each of Max's bursts of energy.

Though the fight was taken outside, the inside wasn't spared any less damage as the entire fairy maid staff had gone insane from Max's maddening presence. Groups of them were fighting one another as other groups simply trashed the place for their own insane amusement. Some of the mansion's residences were relatively safe from the madness that was taking place inside and outside the building.

"Miss Patchouli! I found them!" Koakuma ran with some books in her hands through an isle of large, book filled shelves as she made her way to a table where Patchouli Knowledge, the librarian of the mansion, was reading some spell books.

"About time. Now hopefully they have what I need in them." Patchouli said as she began to flip through the pages of one of the books.

"Miss Patchouli, how are they doing?" Koakuma asked.

"They'll be fine. They just need time to recover from their ordeal with that intruder, especially Sakuya. Meanwhile," Patchouli handed Koakuma a piece of paper. "I need you to go into Flandre's room and draw these runes everywhere."

"Eh?" Koakuma said as she took the paper. "But Miss Patchouli-"

"Whatever you do, do not wake Flandre if she isn't awake already. If she's awake, trick her into helping you place those runes. Tell her you're setting up a game or something..."

"What are they even for?"

"It's the best defense I could make against that intruder's lingering power. Though they won't hold up long, which is why I need to stay here and look for a more effective enchantment. I've already put some up around the library."

"So he is the one causing the fairy maids to go out of control."

"Not only the maids, but the chief maid and almost the gate keeper. It seems as if anyone near him begin to have their sanity slowly eroded away."

"Does that mean Lady Remilia is at risk as well?"

"Yes, though she has a much stronger mind than most beings, she should be fine for the time being. It's Flandre I am more concerned with. I'm surprised she hasn't awakened in a fit of insanity already."

"She has become less and less stable ever since everyone started having those nightmares. Could he be the cause of those as well?"

"Possibly. All I know is his power is unreal. I've never felt such a terrible force before which makes it very difficult to come up with a better defense against it." Patchouli then pointed at Koakuma. "Now hurry up and go. If Flandre goes out of control again, we're going to need more than one immortal to help stop her."

"Yes!" Koakuma said before making her way out of the library.

"Divine Spear: Spear the Gungnir!" Remilia shouted.

A large, great red spear formed in her hands before throwing the mighty weapon. Max caught the tip of the spear with his hands right before it could pierce through him, but failed to stop its momentum. His hands burned as the great spear tried to pierce through them. He mustered up his strength then pushed the spear off to the side, sending it into the ground below and shaking the island from the resulting explosion. Max held out his hand as black smoke began to flow around it. A sword then began to materialize in his hand. The sword had a black metal handle and the blade was a glowing dark red as black flames covered it. Remilia quickly formed another great spear and rushed for Max. She swung down with her spear as he blocked with his sword, the clash letting out a loud boom. They began to relentlessly swing their weapons at one another, loud clangs and blasts of wind resulting with each clash. With a mighty blow, Max shattered Remilia's spear then brought a fist to her stomach. She spat up some blood before sending a kick towards his face. He blocked her kick with his sword then swung at her in an attempt to cleave her, but only managing to cut her dress. He then swung down upon her. Remilia caught the blade with her hands as Max pushed down with all his strength. She pushed the blade away from her then quickly formed two great spears, one in each hand. They both continued to cross weapons as the moon began to rise from behind the horizon. Remilia kicked off of Max's chest to create distance between them then threw one of her spears followed by the next one. Max blocked both spears and then more as she began to send more his way. After blocking a couple dozen great spears, his sword shattered into pieces. He then flew towards Remilia as he avoided her red spears. He sent out a shock wave at her that she swiped away with the swing of one of her spears. Max dodged her last spear then tried to hit her with his red aura consumed punch. She caught his punch, but was quickly grabbed then thrown down to the ground, losing the top part of her dress. She landed on the ground on all fours then stood up, revealing her small breasts. Max descended to the ground with the piece of cloth he had just torn off her.

Remilia brushed her bangs away from her face. "Oh my… is this your way of getting a girl warmed up?" Remilia teased.

"Whoops. That was a nice dress too." Max said as he threw the torn cloth to the ground. _"Heh, not a bad size for someone who looks like a twelve year old." _Max thought. "You should have worn something more suitable for a fight like this."

"I honestly didn't expect you to last this long, young man. You actually managed to satisfy me. You should be proud of yourself as a man."

"You seem to enjoy the high risk of getting killed."

"It has been so long since I have had to fight with my life on the line. I have forgotten just how exhilarating it can be. You have no idea how dull life can be when you have lived as long as I have."

"I'll admit it right now. You vampires are powerful. A lot more powerful then I could have imagined."

"I can say the same about you. That power of yours… I have not once ever came across something so strange… so fearful. Perhaps you can quench my curiosity for a moment and tell me where you got that medallion?" Remilia said as she pointed at Max's chest.

"Oh this?" Max said as he held up the medallion. "I could tell you, but that knowledge would only destroy whatever chances you have of winning against me. Take my word for it."

"Is that so? Then can you tell me why you decided to come here to Gensokyo?"

"Let's just say that I don't want to be seen by prying eyes. That large barrier thing around this land does a good job at masking my power."

"And now that you are here, what are your plans?"

"I'm acting out my plans right now. Learn more about my power and how to better control it. Though it's not going exactly as I wanted, but oh well."

"So you barely know what you are getting yourself into by practicing a dangerous power and putting at risk those around you? That's quite foolish of you, young man."

"I could care less about you people here. You are nothing but ginnie pigs to me."

"So is it safe to say that you are the one causing the nightmares that have been plaguing Gensokyo lately?"

"Couldn't tell you, honestly. I know my power causes people to go mad and inflicts fear. I wouldn't be surprised if it caused nightmares as well."

"I see. Well young man, this unfortunately means I need to kill you. Your presence is damaging to Gensokyo and the people who live here. I don't care much for them either, but this is still my home and I will kill all those who threaten it." Remilia said as a red aura surrounded her.

Max smiled. "You know, I can't say I don't like you. I wouldn't mind living in a place like this, but like you said, my presence is too dangerous." Max's smile disappeared as his demeanor turned serious and he got into his battle pose. "I will master my powers, and I will destroy those who forced this power on me and no one is going to stop me. Not even some girl."

Remilia readied herself. "Alright then, young man. Let's dance."

The red filled moon rose into the night sky, being partially covered with black clouds. The wind howled furiously across the land while humans and youkai alike began to fall to the mad effects of Max's leaking taint. The Human Village had been plunged into chaos as smoke rose to the sky from the burning buildings.

Keine ran around the village, knocking unconscious any insane villager she could find. "This is a waking nightmare…" She said before knocking one of her students out cold before he could set another building on fire in his madness. She then knocked out some more students who were fighting one another. She began to look for more villagers when her headache turned into a migraine. She fell to her knees while holding her head, laughing slightly. "Oh no… this can't be… happening." An arrow then suddenly pierced her foot. "Ouch! Damn it! Who did that?" She said while looking around angrily.

"Who do you think?" A woman said as she landed next to Keine. She had dark gray eyes and long silver hair with a large braid. She was dressed in blue and red while wearing something that looked like a nurse's cap.

"E-Eirin?" Keine said while looking surprised.

"You need to keep your head on straight if you wish to protect this village." Eirin said while smiling.

"But, why are you here?"

"Lady Kaguya sent me here to investigate when Mokou showed up out of nowhere and attacked us."

Keine's eyes watered up. "No… so she's-"

"She'll be fine. You know Kaguya. She can drive that girl insane as well as bring her back out of it." Eirin said confidently.

Keine got up then wiped a tear from her eye and smiled. "You're right, Eirin."

"Now," Eirin said as she raised her bow. "I believe we got a village to pacify."

Keine nodded. "Yes. But please, Eirin. Be careful not to hurt them more than is needed." Eirin nodded before they went their own directions.

"Damn youkai. Attacking me head on? This forest really has lost it…" Reimu said as she threw amulets at some youkai who were charging straight for her. The amulets exploded once they stuck to the youkai, disposing of them. "That tainted power is giving me such a headache… Hey Marisa! Find anything?"

Marisa was walking around while observing the ground and trees. "Well Reimu, there was definitely a fight here, ze."

"Got something that I don't already know about?"

"Nope. It's hard to see. Can't you make that stick of yours shine brighter, ze?"

"I'm trying, but whatever that lingering power is, it's interfering with my power. I can't concentrate at all."

"Bummer, ze."

"Alright, forget this place. We need to get to the Human Village and see what is going on with all that fire we saw."

"Gotcha." Reimu took off into the air as Marisa hopped on her broom. She was about to fly off until she spotted something. "Hey Reimu hold up!"

"We don't have time for this." Reimu said as she landed back on the ground.

Marisa ran over to one of the trees where someone was lying against it. "Oh my god! It's Alice!"

"Alice? What is she doing out here in the middle of the night?"

"Sleeping apparently. And she doesn't seem to be having pleasant dreams either, ze."

"She must be having a nightmare like everyone else who sleeps."

"Wakey wakey sunshine! This isn't the place to be sleeping!" Marisa said as she shook the sleeping Alice. Marisa had an upset look after failing to wake her. She then began to slap her. "Wake up damn it, ze!"

Reimu rolled her eyes. She then pushed Marisa to the side then looked at Alice's face. "Hmm… she might be trapped in her nightmare." Reimu said while rubbing her chin.

"You think so?"

"It's a possibility. I mean why else wouldn't she wake up after being slapped like that?"

"Wouldn't that mean the nightmares are now getting to the point where we might not wake up from them, ze?" Marisa said while panicking slightly.

"Maybe. Damn it. I just don't know. It's so hard to think with this menacing power everywhere. We need to find out where the hell it's coming from. It's probably connected with the nightmares." Reimu sighed. "Just pick her up. She's coming with us."

Marisa picked up Alice then sat her on her broom. "Race you to the village, ze!" Marisa said as she took off towards the village with Reimu lazily flying right behind her.

Max's and Remilia's fight had been taken off the small island where the mansion sat and out on the edge of the lake. Black clouds conjugated above them as they clashed with one another, the red moon being barely visible now.

"_Damn it! He's getting more powerful by the second!" _Remilia thought as she just barely blocked one of Max's kicks with her arm, the blow cracking her bone. "_It is getting harder and harder to focus. My vision is getting all blurry."_ Max formed a red blob then slammed it into the ground, catching them both in the blast. "Gah!" Remilia yelled as she was sent backwards and her skin sliced in places from the attack. She caught herself before she fell into the lake. Max on the other hand was barely fazed from his own explosion. She glared at him as he slowly made his way towards her. "_Damn this. My danmaku doesn't work on him and now it has become nearly impossible to even fight him up close without my vision getting all wobbly."_ Max sprinted towards her. She jumped above him then delivered a kick to the back of his head, nearly sending him into the lake. He quickly turned and round house kicked her, sending her tumbling across the ground. She quickly caught herself then stood back up. Max was about to charge again, but stopped.

Max slapped his forehead. "Jeezus Christ I'm retarded. You're a vampire. It's your frikin heart I need to destroy."

Remilia looked dumbfounded then began to laugh slightly. "Yes. Yes indeed." She said as she panted.

"Look. You can always surrender. I won't kill you if I don't need to." Max said as he panted and with blood running down from both his eyes.

Remilia chuckled. "You give me a hard time and now you think you are all high and mighty? Such a naive boy you are. You forget you are fighting Remilia Scarlet. I'll tear my own heart out and crush it with my own hands long before I surrender to you."

Max shook his head. "Damn stubborn girl." He said. "_Damn it all. I've flirted with Lady Luck long enough. I can't handle using more of this power. I need a fucking rest." _He thought. "Have it your way." He then charged towards Remilia with unreal speed, leaving behind afterimages. He swung for her head, but she was able to just narrowly dunk in time.

Remilia pulled out a spell card. "Midnight King: Dracula Cradle!" She yelled out. Her red aura became larger and fiercer before she rocketed into Max's stomach. He yelled out in pain as she drove him into the air. He wrapped his arms around her then began to crush her, but she quickly turned into a swarm of bats to escape. He held onto his severely bruised stomach as she reformed.

Remilia looked up into the black filled sky before looking back at Max. "We might have to pull an all nighter don't you think?" She said.

"You seriously won't give up?" Max complained.

"No. I still have yet to taste your blood." Remilia said as she licked the tip of one of her fingers.

"Fine, damn it." Max said before he began to fly towards Remilia. She prepared herself as he drew closer. Suddenly, someone quickly appeared right between them, surprising Remilia and forcing Max to stop his approach. "Oh… just fucking great…"

"Hi sister Remy!" Flandre said. She wore a red dress and vest, with a pink shirt underneath, along with a pink mob cap. An aura floated off each of the prisms on her wings.

"Flandre? Sister… I'm sorry, but this just isn't a good time for me to play with you right now. I'm busy with this young man. Please go back to the mansion and wait for me there."

"I don't wanna. It's boring there now that I broke all the strange fairies."

Remilia sighed. "I wish you didn't do that, Flandre."

"It was their fault! They were acting all weird and… Sister! Why aren't you covered?" Flandre said as she poked one of Remilia's breasts. "They're perky."

Remilia swatted Flandre's hand away. "Mind your manners, Flandre."

Flandre turned around to face Max. "Who's he?" She eyed him up and down. Her face turned red then turned back to Remilia. "Remy! You shouldn't do these kinds of things outside where someone could spot you and take pictures!"

"Flandre, I told you to mind your manners. Now do as your elder sister says and go back to the man-" Remilia quickly grabbed Flandre and moved her out of the way of a red glob that had been thrown at them. "That was rather rude, young man." She said. Her face filled with surprise as she noticed Max's power had begun to surge. He hugged himself as he violently shook. His skin splitting open as his horrid power began to seep out. Remilia forced a smile. "Losing control are we? Perhaps we should call it quits and settle this another night. I do not wish for my sister to get involved in our affairs." Max suddenly began to charge for the girls. Remilia shoved Flandre out of the way then took Max's shoulder to the chest, knocking her out of the air. She caught herself just before she landed in the waters below.

"Hey! That's my elder sister you just hit!" Flandre yelled as she went to punch Max, but he grabbed her fist then threw her down towards the water, Remilia catching her. "That was mean."

"_Damn it… This… can't be… happening…." _Max thought as he held on to his head with his hands, blood dripping from his ears.

"_This isn't good. He's losing control of his power. If this goes on any longer, Flandre might lose control of her powers as well because of all that corruptive energy he is releasing."_ Remilia thought as she held onto her little sister. "_I don't want her to get involved in this, but I can't waste any more time." _She then looked into Flandre's eyes. "Flandre, I am going to need your help, okay?"

"Anything for you, Remy!" Flandre said happily.

"Now, this will be very dangerous. You see that mean man?" Remilia said. Flandre looked up at Max then back to Remilia and nodded. "I need your help in breaking him and only him. You understand, Flandre?"

"Yes, sister!" Flandre said happily.

"Good." Remilia replied.

Max continued to try and keep himself from shaking as his power tried to consume him. He looked down at the two vampires who were about to strike.

"_Doesn't it feel good? No one can stop you now."_ The mysterious voice of a girl echoed in Max's mind. He ignored it.

"_I hope I'm not… left with any permanent… damage after this… because it seems like I'm going to be using it whether I like it… or not." _Max thought.

"Let's have some fun!" Flandre shouted as she pulled out a spell card. "Taboo: Cranberry Trap!" Numerous large danmaku of different colors appeared all around Max. He looked around as they closed in on him. Right before they made contact with him, they suddenly froze in place. "Eh?" Flandre said as she pondered why her attack had stopped. Remilia could only clench her teeth in frustration. An evil grin formed on Max's face. All the danmaku then shattered like glass all around him. "Hey! That's cheating!" Flandre pouted.

"He's not playing by any rules, Flandre. So be careful around him." Remilia said.

"No rules? That's fine with me." Flandre said as she grinned. She then took off towards Max with great speed, her hand extended in front of her. Without moving an inch, Max sent out a powerful shock wave that knocked Flandre back. She cried out as she was sent backwards. "What the hell?" She yelled out angrily.

"_I feel like I've been injected with a huge amount of every drug known to man." _Max thought as he watched for Flandre's next move. "_Wait… where's Remil-"_ Max's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden painful pressure on his neck. "Gah! What the hell?" Remilia had sunk her fangs right into his neck, drawing a large amount of blood.

"_Ah… his blood is so tasty…"_ Remilia thought as her cheeks redden a little. Her eyes suddenly widened in horror as a number of horrific images flashed before her eyes all at once. She immediately withdrew her fangs from Max's bloodied neck, holding onto her head and screaming out in utter terror. Max quickly put an end to Remilia's uncontrollable screaming with an elbow to her stomach, knocking all the wind out of her. He then brought his heel down on her head, sending her into the waters below.

"Remy!" Flandre called out. She quickly glared at Max. "You're going to pay for that!" Max then made his way towards her, but in a way that didn't make sense to her. "W-What? But… I can't… follow." She said as her vision began to waver. She then formed a creepy smile as her already shaken mind was shaken even more. "Whatever! I'll just break you!" She pulled out a spell card. "Taboo: Lavatein!" Flames wrapped around her arm as it formed into a black, iron wand. She swung the fiery weapon at Max as he came into range. A huge explosion resulted the moment he blocked it with his own sword he managed to form, but it shattered from the awesome blow. The windows from the mansion all shattered from the powerful air burst. The smoke was quickly cleared as Flandre repeatedly swung her wand at Max as he ducked and dodged, creating a cyclone of winds.

"This is so much fun! You're so fast, but how long can you keep this up?" Flandre said as she laughed hysterically.

Max grabbed a hold of Flandre's wand, its fiery power swallowing him up. He then kicked her in the stomach, causing her to lose her grip on the wand. He went to use it against her, but it vanished in a burst of flames. She quickly countered with her own kick to his gut, making him spit up blood. He retaliated with a punch to the side of her face, nearly knocking out a fang. Soon, they both were delivering powerful punches to each other, not bothering to block.

Flandre continued her insane laughing as she pulled out another spell card. "Taboo: Four of a Kind!" She shouted. Three more Flandres appeared around Max. All four began to mercilessly slash at him, cutting to the bone at times before his power would quickly heal the wounds, but not the pain. Unable to fight them hand to hand, he grabbed all four of them with his psychic power. Max held up his open hand as the Flandres struggled in place. With just the clenching of his hand, their bodies were crushed with a sickening crunch. The mangled bodies bled horribly as they remained suspended in the air. All four of them then bursted into a cloud of bats. Flandre reformed away from Max, who simply waited for her to make a move.

She stared at him with an insane look. "So many eyes… So many to choose… So many to break!" Flandre said as she held out her hand in front of her. She began to hallucinate as there was a number of Max's just floating idly in her vision. The moment she closed her hand, a large area of the forest by the lake went up in a fiery explosion. Max didn't move as the wind blew wildly from the explosion behind him. "One down! Plenty more to go!" She said as she laughed sadistically.

"_She'll… destroy everything around us… long before she kills me…" _Max thought.

Flandre continued to open and close her hand as she tried to blow up Max, turning the forest around the lake into a blazing inferno. Max looked around him with an insane expression as he watched the destruction all around him. Large, colorful danmaku then formed above them.

"Forbidden Barrage: Starbow Break!" Flandre said with a menacing smile.

With the flick of her wrist the danmaku rained down all around them like meteors from the heavens. Max didn't bother to move as they passed by him harmlessly, decimating the land below. Flandre's sadistic giggling could barely be heard over the explosions as she drew pleasure from the destruction she was causing. Max began to chuckle under his breath as he relished in her madness. Flandre then pulled out Lavatein and pointed it at a random direction. A beam of destruction fired from the tip of the wand, blowing up another part of the forest. She continued to fire at whatever didn't look like it had been destroyed, laughing in sadistic enjoyment.

Down below on the lakes edge, Remilia had pulled herself out of the lake. Completely drenched, she struggled to her feet. "_Those images… not once have I seen such horrific images…" _Remilia thought as she covered her mouth with one hand as if she was about to vomit. The sound of an explosion brought to her attention what was going on around her. She looked up into the air to see that her sister Flandre had gone mad and was firing off destruction every which way. "Flandre!" She cried out. "_This can't be happening. My nightmares are becoming a reality right before my eyes."_ She thought as she looked at the desolation around her in horror.

Remilia could remember her nightmares perfectly for they were as vivid as reality itself. She would find herself flying over a city of the outside world that had been annihilated. Once great skyscrapers burned, sending out large clouds of smoke into the air. Scorched bones of the city's inhabitants littered the streets below. She flew towards a headless statue of a person in robes who held up what looked like a torch. On the torch stood a girl who was enveloped in a chaotic aura of different colors.

"Flandre!" Remilia called out. She stopped in front of the broken girl. "Flandre… what have you done?" Tears began to run down her face.

"They all broke, sister. Everything… broke…" Flandre said in a weak voice. "I… broke them… didn't I?" She said, her eyes looking down at the red waters below, avoiding making eye contact with her elder sister. "I've been a… bad girl…" Tears began to run down her blood covered face.

Remilia floated towards her sister then embraced her. "Yes… yes you have…" She said while trying to hold back her tears.

"Will I… be punished?" Flandre said softly as she hugged Remilia.

"Yes, Flandre. You will be punished."

Flandre arched her back backwards, her eyes widening as Remilia pierced her back with a metal stake, striking her heart. She held onto her sister harder as she closed her eyes. "Sorry for being… such a bad girl… Rem… il…lia…" Flandre said as she slowly turned to dust in Remilia's arms.

Rivers of tears ran down Remilia's face as the dust of her sister blew away with the wind. She fell to her knees and let out a wail of lament as pieces from the shattered moon above rained down upon the earth.

Remilia looked over to Max who floated idly in the air as Flandre continued to wildly fire beams of energy. "You… she was doing so well ever since meeting the shrine maiden and the witch until you showed up." She said as she struggled to contain her rage. She took to the air towards Max with blinding speed, stopping within arm's length in front of him. "I think it is time for me to put an end to your little experiments. You've been a bad boy and so you shall be punished." She said as a great, red spear formed in her hand as Max stared at her. She thrusted the spear towards his heart, but he effortlessly caught the blade. "_Damn him. I am exhausted while he shows no sign of fatigue." _Max shattered the spear with his power then swatted Remilia away. He formed a sword in his hand then took off towards the wild Flandre. "Get back here!" Remilia yelled as she went after Max.

Flandre saw Max coming and began to fire off red beams at him, which he quickly dodged. They both swung their weapons at one another, causing a huge air burst the moment their weapons connected. Remilia was sent flying backwards from the blast. Max and Flandre continued to swing wildly at one another as lightning danced across the black filled sky. Max swung with all his might, knocking Lavatein out of Flandre's hand. He then held up his palm to her face then blasted her with a rippling shock wave, sending her into the lake. She quickly jumped out of the water and landed on the ground, coughing up water that had entered her lungs. Before she knew it, Max appeared in front of her with his sword drawn. He thrusted his weapon forward in an attempt to pierce the stunned vampire's heart.

"No!" Remilia shouted as she jumped in front of Flandre, her hands held out to her sides as she prepared herself to take the strike. She didn't flinch as the sword made its way towards her heart.

Max suddenly stopped his attack, the tip of his sword just barely touching Remilia's left breast, drawing a little blood. He stared at the two vampires, one scared while the other remained stern in the face of death. He looked at the two as an old memory began to surface. He began to picture Flandre as a scared young boy, a boy that looked like a younger version of himself, while he pictured Remilia as a girl with long, straight, brown hair who appeared older than the boy and with blood pouring from what looked like gunshot wounds on her chest, yet she kept a stern expression. The sword in Max's hand vanished into black smoke. He took a couple steps back away from the vampires as his insane expression faded. He smirked a little and closed his eyes. He then fell backwards, hitting the ground with a loud thump.

"_You… are beginning… to vex me…" _The mysterious girl's voice echoed in Max's mind as his consciousness faded.


	5. Chapter Five: The Lost City

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopefully nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Max slept after he collapsed from the weight of his power. As he slept, he soon dreamed and with the dreams came the horrible memories of a dark and ancient city.

"Okay… I take a short cut on my way to school and this is where I end up… great… just great." Max said as he walked down a cold and empty street of a dark city. "Where the fuck am I?" Max was startled as he looked up into the strangely colored sky. "What the hell… Am I tripping or what?" Max shook his head then continued down the street. He wondered around the edge of the empty city until he came to the shore of a great lake. Night began to settle in as he stared over the horizon to see where the lake ended. "Awesome. I think it's safe to say I won't be going to school today. Shit…" Max was about to turn around in till he noticed a shocking sight. "What… the hell…?" Twin suns appeared to sink into the lake as darkness covered the land. "Two suns. Now I know I've lost it." He turned around and headed down another street of the mysterious city.

Black stars hovered above the city after Max had wondered around aimlessly for a couple hours. He started to drag his feet as he became tired. "This sucks." His stomach growled from not being fed for too long. "Where the hell could I be?" The wind howled down the streets, causing him to shiver. "I have to be dreaming, but what dream lasts for this frikin long?" He suddenly stopped to the sounds of approaching footsteps and tattered cloth blowing in the chilling wind. "_Should I be happy that I'm not alone in this place?" _Max thought as he became scared. Letting fear guide him, he ran away from the sounds. "Fuck that, I need to get the hell out of here." He ran as fast as he could, choosing streets at random. After several minutes of running blindly, he stopped to catch his breath. "This place is too freaky for my taste." He said as he panted. He continued to jog down the streets of cobble stone, observing the alien architecture all around him. He looked up at the towers of the city then stopped, his face paled. "How is that possible…?" Max said as he looked at one of the two rising moons as it appeared to be in front of the tower rather than behind it.

Max continued to gaze at the impossible sight as sweat poured down his terrified face and his vision wavered. He turned to continue running, but stopped as a person obstructed his path. The tall and slim person was covered from head to toe in tattered, yellow rags. He wore a silver pallid mask and a yellow hood. The mask only had two eye slots, which had only darkness within them. A medallion with a yellow symbol on it dangled from his neck. The person gave off a horrifying chill that froze Max in place.

"_I want to scream, but I can't!" _Max thought as his vision faded into darkness as the yellow figure floated towards him.

Max found himself sitting in a metal chair in a cold room made of black stone when he came to. He tried to quickly get up, but his arms and legs were strapped to the metal arms and legs of the chair. A metal collar prevented him from turning his head.

"What the fuck?" Max said as he struggled to get himself free. Suddenly, the metal door to the room slowly opened. Max watched as several number of dark figures in black robes walked in. "_Oh, this can't be good." _He thought as they formed a circle around him. He could hear metal moving behind him. "Alright assholes, care to explain what the fuck you want with me?" Max said in a threatening voice.

The dark figures continued to stand in silence as a few of them were setting up some kind of machine behind him. After a few nerve whacking seconds, two more robed figures entered the room while carrying bloody devices that looked like they were used to cut something, or someone.

Max quickly took notice of this then began to violently struggle in the chair. "Oh fuck no!" He yelled. The dark figures grabbed a hold of him to keep him from moving while others tightened the straps that held Max down. "Let me go you mother fuckers!" Max continued to try and thrash in the metal chair in an attempt to disrupt whatever they were about to do to him. Max tensed up as something cold and metal was placed up next to his neck, a sharp point setting on right above his spine. "What the hell are you bastards doing? Let go!" Max's muscles locked up as the sharp metal object was slowly pushed into his skin and into his spine. Max screamed at the top of his lungs in pain as the object made its way down his back. "Stop! Stop! Fuck this hurts!"

It only took the dark figures a minute to get the metal object all the way down his spine, but for Max it felt like hours. He continued to moan in agony even after they were finished. He could no longer move his body as the excruciating pain refused to leave. He panted heavily as they picked up some of the strange cutting devices that were brought in earlier.

"_What… What now…?" _Max thought as he watched the robed figures draw closer to him with the devices at hand. One of the figures turned on the device he held. The sound it made caused Max's heart to sink into despair.

Max's horrible wail could be heard all across the streets of the dark city. The figures slowly took his body apart piece by piece. First they peeled his skin off and then removed his muscles. They pulled his rib cage open so they could get to the organs within and took them out, putting them into jars. It didn't take long for the entire floor to be covered in Max's blood. He cried out in utter agony as his consciousness refused to end from the intense pain.

It took the dark figures hours to reduce Max to only his head and spine that dangled from the metal object that was still stuck in his spine. Max closed his eyes so to not see the horrible state he was now in. He could barely think as his brain was whacked with a crushing migraine.

"_Just… end…" _Max thought as tears ran down his face.

Max opened his eyes to find the dark figures beginning the painful process of putting him back together with the parts they had just removed from him. His wails of misery filled the dark city once again. Hours had passed after they finished putting Max back together and to his horror, they began to take him apart once again. They repeated the process of taking apart and putting him back together an unfathomable amount of times. They didn't stop until he had ceased screaming during the horrible procedure.

Max lay curled up on the cold, stone floor of a dark prison cell. He stared at the stone wall, refusing to move even an inch. The cold air wasn't even enough to make him shiver. Unknown to him, a young girl was crouched on the other side of the metal bars, staring at him with love struck eyes. She had long, straight hair that was primarily a black color, but it appeared to change to darker shades of other colors at random. Her eye's lacked pupils and the color of her irises were the same as her hair and changed just as it did. She wore a silky, black one piece with silky, black gloves and black dress shoes. She continued to stare at Max's back for hours before she said something.

"Hi! How are you feeling?" The girl said in a cheerful voice. Max didn't budge or say anything. "You want to go home don't cha? I can't tell you how if you don't look at me… Max."

Max got up and looked at the girl quickly after hearing his name, nearly falling back down as the pain from his last ordeal had yet to fade. "How do you know my name?" He said with a shaken voice.

"I know a lot about you, Maxy. I know everything you've been through, from the moment you were born all the way up till now. I know you didn't live a decent childhood, growing up in a war torn country and then adopted by some very bad people in another country. I even know about… Kay." Max quickly ran towards the girl. He reached his hand out between the bars to grab her, but she suddenly disappeared and then reappeared behind him. "I know it wasn't your fault for what happened to her. All humans are bastards, that's all there is to it." She said as she hugged Max from behind, with one of her hands getting awfully close to his groin.

Max pulled her arms off him then turned around. "How did you do that?" He said with surprise.

"Do what?" The girl said as she played dumb.

"Don't fuck with me!" Max yelled as he grew angry.

"Fuck with you? Well…" The girl lifted her skirt to reveal black, lacy panties underneath. "Can I be on top? My skin isn't as tough as yours so the hard stone floor would bruise me easily and I really don't want to be on my knees here." She said as her cheeks redden a little.

Max blushed as he grew more angry. "You said something about knowing how I can get back home?"

The girl let go of her skirt while giving Max a look of disappointment. "I didn't say that, but something like that." She said as she walked up to him, putting her hands up his shirt and feeling his abs. "But what are you willing to do for me for that information?"

Max looked down at her as her alluring eyes pulled him closer to her face. Before he knew it, his face was so close to hers that he could feel her breath on his face. He quickly pulled back and stood up straight, shaking his head.

"Look. Are you going to tell me how I can get home or are you just here to torment me?" Max said as he tried to keep a calm demeanor.

The girl frowned. "Humph, fine. I'll tell you. This isn't really a good place to do anything anyways." She said as she walked away from Max then turning back around to face him. "All you need to do is get a special medallion."

"Okay, a medallion. How does it look like? Where can I find it?" Max said, failing to hide his annoyance.

"You will know when you see it. And where to find it? All you got to do is make it back up to the streets above. You will know where to go from there."

"Oh is that all? Well that's just fucking great." Max said with sarcasm in his voice. "Are you going to let me out of this fucking cell so I can get to the streets or will I just know how to get out of here on my own?"

"You seem so aggravated for some reason." The girl said as she closed the distance between them again. She placed a hand on his groin. "I can relieve you of some of that stress before you leave for you." She said as she sucked on the tip of her pointer finger.

Max turned around then began shaking the metal bars of the jail cell. "Open you mother fucker!" The jail door then opened. He turned around to look at the girl.

"Oh, well won't you look at that. Seems like they forgot to lock it." The girl said as she smiled.

Max pointed at her menacingly as if he was about to say something, but didn't. He ran out the jail cell and into the dark halls of where ever he was.

The mysterious girl slowly waved her hand. "Bye, bye, Maxy. I'll see you later. You can count on it." She said as her smile became dark and twisted.

Max sprinted down the dark halls of the underground building. He chose randomly whenever he came to two different hallways. To his luck, he managed to find a spiral of stone stairs that led up. He quickly made his way up them. He finally came to a door and kicked it open. He sighed in relief as the door led to the streets of the dark city.

"Well running around aimlessly has helped so far. Not like I got any other good ideas." Max said. He turned around to the sounds of people running up the stone steps behind him. "Time to run like hell."

Max began to run down the dark street, the dark stars above weighing down upon him with a malevolent presence. He again chose random streets to run down as he came to different sets of streets. He turned to go down another street, but stopping as he saw a mob of robe covered figures running towards him.

"Fuck." Max said as he quickly turned around and ran the other direction. "Fucking girl! You said I'd know where to go!" Max continued to run from the dark figures, running down random streets. "Shit. Won't those bastards ever get tired?" He said as he began to breathe heavily. He suddenly tripped and fell to the cobble ground. "God frikin damn it! What the hell did I step on?" Max looked at his feet to spot a large circular object attached to a chain. He picked it up then started to run again. "This is the medallion?" Max said as he looked at it. "Wait a minute. That dude in yellow was wearing it." He turned around to see that the dark figures were still hot on his trail. Max held out his hand with only his middle finger up at them. "Assholes… I'll kill you all one day." He then pulled the chain with the medallion over his neck. He froze in place the moment he did, stunned as forbidden knowledge poured into his mind. He then looked down at the medallion that now glowed. "This thing? It belongs to-" Max covered his mouth before he finished his sentence. "Forget about that for now. I need to get out of here." Max turned around to see the robed figures had caught up to him. He raised his hand to them, a rippling shock wave firing out of his hand and knocking the dark figures back. He then looked at his hand in shock. "Holy… shit." He said. He gave a glance at the fallen figures then turned around. "Let's see what else I can do…" Max swiped his hand in front of him, ripping a hole in the space in front of him. The hole itself was black with a pulsating red trim around the edges. "So this is supposed to be my ticket home?" He turned around to see another large group of robed figures heading towards him. "Don't have much of a choice now do I?" Max took a deep breath before jumping into the dark hole, the hole closing behind him.

The mysterious girl sat on the edge of the roof of one of the buildings with her legs crossed. "I think I should have told him to be careful when going through strange holes. You never know where they might lead." She said as she leaned back to gaze up at the black sky. "Oh well… I'm sure he'll be fine with his new powers." An evil grin formed on her face. "Or will he?"

Max suddenly found himself floating in a black void. Stellar lights seemed to appear and vanish off in the distance. He couldn't tell which way was up as he surveyed the bizarre place.

"Where the hell am I now? This place makes even less sense than the last." Max said. Fear ran up his spine as he suddenly felt a terrible presence. He turned around only to come face to face with a horrific monstrosity of the like his darkest nightmares could never hope to conjure up. He gaped in horror at the indescribable being. He went to scream, but blood came up instead of noise. He forced his mouth closed with his hands to keep him from trying to scream any further. His vision wavered severely as he tried to look away from the thing.

The horror fed off of Max's fear with delight as it floated closer to him. It then surged toward him in an attempt to devour him, both flesh and mind. Max's mouth overpowered the strength in his hands and flew open, a scream of terror emitting out of it.


	6. Chapter Six: Blood Hunt

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopefully nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Max fell off a wooden bench and onto the cold, hard stone of the small room he was in, screaming. His hard landing knocked him out of his terrified state.

"Ouch! Damn it!" Max said. He looked around to find he was in a stone cell with no windows besides the small one in the metal door. "Shit! I haven't awakened yet!" He yelled as he began to panic.

"Oh, shut up in there. You're giving me a headache." A girl said from the other side of the metal door."

"Who's there?" Max asked.

"Reimu Hakurei. Now shut up and be quiet." Reimu said, her voice filled with frustration.

"Reimu? Where have I heard that name before…? Wait a minute. I'm still alive after that fight?"

"That you are, young man." Another girl said.

"Vampire girl?" Max said as he tried to peer through the bars of the small window of the metal door.

"Don't tell me you forgot my name?" Remilia said.

"What are you stupid or somethin? Why am I still alive?" Max said.

"We were going to kill you, but after drinking some of your blood I have learned a little more about you and your power." Remilia said.

"What? How?" Max said.

"When I tasted your blood a number of images flashed before me. At first I just thought they were just plain images with no meaning other than to harm my mind, but I quickly realized that they were your memories." Remilia said.

"Are you sure about that?" Max asked.

"Very sure. That power is not yours, Max. It is merely sealed within you and it is trying to get out. The question is, who does that power belong to if it isn't yours?" Remilia said.

"You're thinking about it too much. It is my power."

"Don't be a fool. That power will destroy you if you continue to use it." Remilia said. She then sighed. "Just look at you now. That power is leaking out as we speak. Reimu and Patchouli here have been working nonstop for the last three days on ways to contain your leaking power."

"Three days? You saying I was out for three days?" Max asked.

"Yes. I myself have just recently recovered from our fight. My precious sister on the other hand has not. I have you to thank for that."

"Not my fault she decided to get involved."

"True. The nightmares inflicting Gensokyo have played a larger part in her instability than you actually have and in the last few days we have come to the conclusion that your power isn't what's causing them."

"Really? What makes you think that?"

"Like I said before, Reimu and Patchouli have been creating ways to seal your power, but the nightmares remain even after they contained your power within your cell. They are placing sealing amulets and runes all around your prison as we speak. Unfortunately for them the seals they create are not very efficient and require constant maintenance. That power of yours is very strange indeed."

"That is all find and dandy, but I have no plans on staying in here for long." Max said.

"I know that too well. All I ask is that you cooperate with us for the time being in till they come up with a better seal for your power. After that, maybe we can help you gain better control of that power so it doesn't end up leading you to your demise."

"Thanks, but no thanks. You have no understanding of my power and most likely never will. I'll figure out how to handle it myself." Max said as he sat down on the wooden bench.

"Either you cooperate with us or I exterminate you. Your choice." Reimu said.

"Go to hell." Max said.

"You go to hell!" Reimu yelled as she kicked the metal door. "I could be at home, tending to my shrine if Remilia didn't insist that you be kept alive. You've caused me a lot more problems than I need. First the village, then the little sister, and now this."

"Blow me." Max said.

"What did you say?" Reimu said as she became angrier.

"Quite the stubborn one isn't he, Remy? Reminds me of you." Patchouli said as she continued to draw some runes on the prison wall.

"Watch it, Patchy." Remilia said. "I assume you are hungry, Max?"

"I don't want food from you. Rather not take the risk of it having poison in it or something." Max said as he laid down. Suddenly a loud growl echoed within the jail cell then out the small window in the door. Max's face redden a little as he heard the girls outside giggling. "Nope, not one bit." Max said stubbornly.

"I'll have Sakuya bring down something for you." Remilia said.

"Bitch, I said no." Max said.

"Would you two care for something as well?" Remilia asked.

"Don't ignore me!" Max exclaimed.

"Just some tea would be nice." Reimu said as she continued to replace amulets that had shriveled up.

"I'll take some snacks with my tea please and thank you." Patchouli said.

"Okay. I will have Sakuya bring it right away." Remilia said as she turned to leave. "You be good in there." She could hear Max mumble some mean things to her.

"_Damn… I feel like shit. Head feels like it has been hit with a wrecking ball and my muscles feel like they are on fire. I just need to chill for a little bit then get the hell out of here." _Max thought.

"_Why? Why do you hesitate?" _A distorted girl's voice echoed in Max's mind.

"_Alright. Who the fuck are you? I thought it was just my power playing tricks on me, but that obviously isn't it." _Max thought.

"_The only one who loves you." _The voice said.

"Don't fuck with me!" Max yelled as he sat up on the bench. He looked to his side to notice a plate of cooked meat and some fruit. He got up and looked out the cell door window. "Nice seeing you again too!" He yelled out. He picked up the plate then sat back down. "Damn maid…" He then looked at his chest. "…_Bitches took my medallion. Morons don't know what they are getting themselves into."_

Remilia was sitting at a table sipping at some tea with Sakuya standing at her side in the library of the mansion.

"Not that I don't mind drinking some tea in the library, but I hope the mansion is repaired soon." Remilia said.

"With the loss of much of the fairy staff it will take longer than it normally would." Sakuya said.

"I understand that."

"If I may ask, mistress… why are you keeping that boy alive after what he did?" Sakuya asked.

"You are normally not the one to question my motives, Sakuya."

"But milady, you never before showed such mercy to someone who has caused so much damage to your mansion, not to mention him causing Miss Flandre to go out of control and trying to kill you."

"Sakuya is right." Patchouli said as she and Reimu entered the library. "I don't remember you keeping a prisoner alive let alone feeding one after causing this much of a ruckus."

"I just think it would be wiser to find out more about his power before we make any rash decisions." Remilia said.

"You not making any rash decisions for once? That's new, ze." Marisa said as she landed next to the table with a bunch of books in hand.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, witch." Remilia said with a slightly aggravated tone.

"Did you find anything about that medallion?" Reimu asked.

"Nodda, but I did find some things on nightmares. Maybe we can find a way to wake Alice up. She'd be helpful in findin out what this damn thing is, ze." Marisa said as she pulled the medallion out of her pocket then laid it down on the table.

The group of girls all looked at Marisa as she fell into the chair.

"Um… Marisa? Are you okay? Your face is all pale and you're shaking." Reimu said.

"Huh? I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Marisa said as she panted.

Reimu sighed then walked over to the Marisa. She put a few amulets on the medallion then sat down. "Sorry Marisa. Stupid mistake on my part." Marisa just looked at her confused. "Anyways, mind telling us why you decided on not killing that guy after all the harm he has caused?" Reimu asked as she turned to Remilia.

Remilia drank the last bit of her tea before speaking. "I saw some terrible memories of that boy that makes me believe that this incident isn't just like any other incident that has occurred here in Gensokyo."

"What do you mean?" Reimu asked.

"What I mean is that you need to go and wake up the gap youkai." Remilia said.

Marisa laughed. "Wake her up before spring? Good luck with that."

"Why do I need to wake her up?" Reimu asked.

"Because she might be the only one with a clue about what we are dealing with. She might even know what that symbol is on that medallion." Remilia said. "And you need to bring her here now while the boy isn't willing to fight back."

"Just because you lost to him doesn't mean we will, ze" Marisa said with a smirk. "I would love to see what Max has up his sleeves."

"You forget he doesn't play by danmaku rules." Remilia scowled. "And last I checked, he collapsed before I did."

"And the damage he caused to the Human Village and the surrounding area just from being present." Reimu added.

"Exactly. The point I am trying to make is that we don't give him a reason to use anymore of his powers than he already has. At least not in till we know what we are truly up against." Remilia said.

Reimu sighed as she got up out of her chair. "Well I can't go. Patchouli and I need to remain here and maintain the seal we have on him while trying to develop a better one."

"That is true." Remilia said. "Sakuya."

"Yes milady?" Sakuya said.

"I need you and the witch to go and bring the gap youkai here. We need her advice." Remilia said.

"Why me?" Marisa complained. "I was goin to have a chat with Max."

"Yes, mistress, but Marisa doesn't need to come with me." Sakuya said.

"Yeah she does. You might need some help getting passed her shikigami." Reimu said. Sakuya nodded.

"Ah fine." Marisa said then she and Sakuya left the library.

"I'm going to research more on seals." Patchouli said to Reimu before heading down one of the library's many aisles.

"I guess I'll go and do some maintenance on the seal." Reimu said as she stood up and made her way out of the library. She suddenly stopped then turned to face Remilia. "Remilia… just how serious is the situation?"

"That boy may be dangerous to Gensokyo, but the bad thing is… there might be a much bigger threat coming our way." Remilia said. Reimu paled before leaving the library with a heavy sigh.

Remilia sat her elbows on the table then rested her chin on her hands as she stared at the medallion that was left on the table, contemplating.

Marisa and Sakuya made their way to an old style Japanese house that was located in an isolated part of Gensokyo, far from the more populated areas.

"Finally made it here. Now to fight our way to Yukari then waking her lazy ass up, ze." Marisa said as she swung one of her arms around preparing for a fight.

"We are not here to start a fight, Miss Marisa." Sakuya said before knocking on the door of the house. "Lady Remilia is acting strange, meaning this incident is more serious than we thought."

"I agree, ze." Marisa said. "Her not acting like a brat is quite strange."

"Please refrain from saying such things. That is still my mistress you are talking about."

"Hee hee. As long as we can both agree that she can be a brat sometimes." Marisa said. Sakuya slightly smiled.

The door of the house suddenly opened. A woman wearing a double pointed hat and a blue and white dress came out. She had yellow eyes, short blonde hair and nine tails.

"Oh, this is rare." The woman said. "Not every day that the vampire's servant and the witch come to visit."

"Sup, Ran." Marisa said cheerfully.

Sakuya bowed before speaking. "Good evening, Ran. We are here to speak to your master about a serious problem."

Ran sighed. "You two know Lady Yukari enough that she will not be waking up until spring. If you wish to speak with her, you will need to wait in till then."

"Just what I expected. Let's not waste our breath on talkin and just get right to it." Marisa said as she pulled out a spell card. Sakuya held up her hand in front of her, stopping her from declaring her spell card.

"Miss Ran. You know how my mistress is. She's normally too stubborn to ask for anyone else's help. She wouldn't have asked me to come here before spring unless it was a problem that needed dire attention. She has sat aside her pride to ask for your master's help." Sakuya said with a serious look.

"Does this have anything to do with what happened at the Human Village by any chance?" Ran asked. Sakuya nodded. Ran then sighed. "I can see how serious you are, but even if I wanted to, waking up Lady Yukari this early before spring is… not a very good idea."

"It's only two weeks early. That lazy youkai can handle gettin up early once in a while." Marisa said.

"Ran. I will take full responsibility for waking up Yukari. So please…" Sakuya said as she bowed.

Ran looked at Sakuya and began thinking. After a short moment she sighed. "It doesn't matter what you do, I'll still be punished." She then waved them inside. "Please, come in."

"Thank you, Ran." Sakuya said as she and Marisa entered the house.

A small girl wearing a red and light pink outfit with gold trimming walked into the room where the other three girls were. She had dark orange eyes, brown hair, cat ears and two tails. A green mob cap sat on top of her head. She held some recently washed clothes in her hands.

"Oh! Welcome!" The cat girl said as she bowed.

"Excuse me for intruding." Sakuya said as she returned the bow.

"Sup, Chen!" Marisa exclaimed.

Chen put her index finger to her lips. "Shh! Lady Yukari is still sleeping."

"It's okay, Chen." Ran said as she made her way down a hall way.

"Lady Ran. What are you doing?" Chen said with a face full of curiosity.

"I am going to wake Lady Yukari." Ran said as she continued down the hall way with Marisa and Sakuya right behind her. Chen dropped the clothes she had in her hands as her expression turned to one of utter shock.

Ran, Marisa, Sakuya, and Chen arrived in front of a sliding door. Ran put her hand on the handle, but hesitated to open it.

"Need help, ze?" Marisa asked.

"No. No of course not." Ran said as she slid the door open.

The room was dark despite it being day light out. The windows were covered to prevent the sun's rays from getting in and dispelling the darkness. In the middle of the room laid a woman with long, blond hair. She snored as she slept peacefully in her futon. Ran took a step into the room and sat next to the sleeping woman.

"Lady Yukari." Ran said as she slightly shook the shoulder of the woman. The sleeping woman shrugged her hand away. She then shook the woman harder. "Lady Yukari."

Yukari began to move around in her futon. "Uh… what is it Ran… Don't tell me it's spring already?" She mumbled.

"Umm… Well Lady Yukari… Uh…" Sweat began to run down Ran's face as she became more nervous.

"It sure is, Yukari. Now get your lazy butt out of bed. We got work to do!" Marisa exclaimed. Sakuya, Ran, and Chen looked at her with surprise.

"Hmm… Marisa? What brings you here? Couldn't wait to see me could you?" Yukari said as she sat up in her futon, rubbing her eyes.

"Don't get your hopes up. We need you to get dressed and come with us to the Scarlet Mansion." Marisa said.

"My, my, my… The Scarlet Devil Mansion." Yukari said as she continued to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes. "Don't tell me that vampire wants to have a chat with little o' me?"

"Actually, Lady Yukari," Sakuya said. "My mistress sent me here because she is in need of your help."

Yukari's hand dropped to her side as she stared at Sakuya. She chuckled a bit before speaking. "You are talking about Remilia Scarlet right? Her wanting my help?" She chuckled some more. "Have her ask for the shrine maiden's help." Yukari said as she yawned. "As you can see, I just got up."

"Reimu is just as stumped as the rest of us." Marisa said.

"She is? Then why didn't my little Reimu come to see me?" Yukari asked.

"She had to remain at the mansion do to the situation." Sakuya said.

"Lady Yukari. The inhabitants of the Human Village as well as the youkai in the surrounding wilderness went insane a few days ago. The village was nearly burned to the ground because of it. I believe a plague of nightmares was the cause." Ran said.

"Nope. Though the nightmares are half of the problem, ze." Marisa said.

"Then what caused them to all go mad?" Ran asked.

"A young man from the outside world by the name of Max." Sakuya said.

"A young man, eh?" Yukari said as she grew more interested. "Is he handsome?" She asked. Marisa smiled as she gave her a thumbs up.

"Well… this does sound quite interesting." Yukari said as she got up. "I guess I'll just have to see what the fuss is all about. If you may, fill me in on the details as I get ready."

Sakuya nodded. She gave Yukari and Ran a summary of what had happened in the last week as Yukari prepared to leave.

"My, my. It seems that boy named Max has caused a lot of trouble for you all." Yukari said as Ran handed her a pink parasol. "Shall we go see what has the little vampire all worried about?" With the flick of her wrist, a portal opened in front of her. The portal looked like a gap with red ribbons at the end and with eyes staring out from within. The group entered the gap except for Ran and Chen.

"I hope it's not too serious." Chen said as she held onto the side of Ran's dress.

"Me too." Ran said. "_Right now I'm more worried about Yukari finding out that it isn't spring…"_

Remilia sat in the library, resting her eyes as she waited for Sakuya and Marisa to return. She began to doze off when she suddenly sensed something. She opened her eyes to see that the yellow symbol on the medallion was glowing.

Remilia sighed as she sat back up in her chair. "May I ask what happened to Reimu?" She said.

Max appeared as he walked out from the shadows behind Remilia. He stood behind her then placed his hands on her shoulders. "She was in the way when I opened the door to my cell. She'll be out cold for a bit." Max said. "I hate to admit it, but that meal you gave me was probably the best meal I've had since forever." He said as he massaged Remilia's shoulders.

"You should be thanking Sakuya. She's the one who prepared it without letting her emotions diminish the quality." Remilia said.

"I'll let you do that for me. I won't be staying long."

"I am quite surprised. I did not expect you to recover so quickly. Not only that, you seem to have gained control of your power. I didn't even sense you until you were close." Remilia said, clearly enjoying the massage she was being given.

"I'm telling you it was that maid's cooking." Max smiled as he recalled the delicious meal he had not too long ago. "Also… I need to thank you for letting me live. Only one other person has ever given me a chance to live and for that I thank you."

"Do not think about it too much, Max. I only did it because I think you will prove useful to me in the future."

Max chuckled. "Don't think just because you let me live that I'll suddenly start being a nice guy. I still view your world as my training grounds and its inhabitants the target dummies." He let go of Remilia's shoulders then picked up his medallion and placed it over his neck. "I'm just going to stay away from you and your mansion as thanks for sparing me. I'll do what I can to not bring any more harm to you."

"You want to get stronger so you can defend yourself from those things, right? I don't see why you think you need to fight them on your own."

Max grabbed a hold of Remilia's shoulders again then squeezed them as he put his lips close to her ear. "I don't know what memories of mine you saw, but you don't got a clue on what I want or what those things can do." He said as he grew irritated. He then let go of Remilia then began to leave the library. "I'll be leaving now."

"Won't you stay a little longer? I can have Sakuya get you a new shirt. It is cold out there you know." Remilia said as she faked a smile.

"I'll manage." Max said as he waved his hand. "Goodbye, Remilia." Max made his way passed Patchouli as he left the library.

Remilia sighed. "Damn…"

"You are not going to try and stop him?" Patchouli asked.

"It would be pointless. Another fight would just bring harm to Flandre." Remilia said.

"If he is such a problem, why did you let him live?"

"Patchy… I saw a dream that I believe was not just a dream…"

Patchouli sat at the table across from Remilia. "You mean your ability kicked in?"

Remilia nodded. "It is hard to describe, but what I saw was a figure in yellow that had a swarm of… things behind it as they descended upon the world. The only one standing in between them and the world was that young man."

"What exactly does that mean?" Patchouli asked.

Remilia shook her head. "I just don't know. My visions are always too damn vague."

Suddenly a gap opened up with Yukari, Sakuya and Marisa coming out of it.

"That took too long, Sakuya." Remilia said as she glared at Sakuya.

"I-I'm sorry milady…" Sakuya said as she bowed.

"Why hello there, Remilia." Yukari said as she held a fan in front of her mouth. "How long has it been since we've had a nice chat?"

"Not long enough I'm afraid." Remilia said. "Unfortunately you are late."

"Me? Late?" Yukari chuckled. "I hear you have a guest here that has been causing you some grief. A human male if I may add."

"Had a guest." Remilia said.

Reimu suddenly came stumbling into the library. Some blood was running down her forehead and out her nose. Her expression was filled with rage. "I am so going to kill him when I find him." She said.

"Oh my. Don't tell me a human boy got the best of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden?" Yukari teased.

"Shut up, youkai!" Reimu exclaimed.

"So I take it he is no longer here?" Yukari said, her expression still covered by her fan. "Humph. It seems I have wasted my time in coming here." A gap opened up behind her.

"No you haven't." Remilia said. "Patchouli…"

Patchouli got up out of her seat then walked up to Yukari. "Have you seen this symbol before?" Patchouli held up a piece of paper with the strange symbol that was also on Max's medallion.

The moment Yukari looked at the symbol here face paled. She dropped the fan and parasol that were in her hands then backed away from Patchouli, backing into another table and knocking the books off that were on it.

"Yukari? Are you alright." Reimu said as everyone looked at Yukari with surprise.

Remilia smiled. "I take it that you know what this symbol is given your reaction. I must say I never thought that I would live long enough to see you with such a terrified face, gap youkai. Care to explain what it is?"

Yukari turned to Remilia with a serious expression. "Do not tell me that boy has something to do with this sign?" Yukari said. Everyone nodded. "Where is he?"

"He escaped I'm afraid." Remilia said.

"You let him escape?" Yukari furiously said, her voice echoing through out the library and stunning everyone. She quickly recollected herself before continuing to speak. "How does the mighty vampire, Remilia Scarlet, let a human boy escape from her very own mansion?" She said as she continued to glare at Remilia.

"You tell me, Youkai of Boundaries." Remilia said as she glared back. "What is it that we are dealing with?"

Yukari pulled out a handkerchief from one of her pockets and wiped her face of some sweat. "All you need to know is that he is a threat to Gensokyo's existence and must be found. We need to find him and dispose of him as quickly as possible."

"We should convince him to cooperate with us. He will only fight back if we threaten him and we cannot afford to allow him to use anymore of his power." Remilia said.

Yukari let out another sigh. "You do not understand what is going on, vampire. If he has been using his powers to such an extent as he has recently, then who knows what attention he has already grabbed? That boy will only attract more just from being alive."

"He mentioned the great border veiling his powers from those things, how much truth is in that?" Remilia asked.

Yukari laughed. "Is that what he told you? That poor fool. He really doesn't know what he has gotten himself into now does he?" She chuckled some more before continuing. "That would be partially true. The barrier does shield from the eyes of those things, but only the lesser ones. The deadlier ones can see right through the barrier as if it wasn't even there." Yukari sighed. "And those are not even the ones that I am worried about…"

"The one in yellow?" Remilia asked. Yukari looked at her in surprise for a moment then nodded.

"The one in yellow? Just what the hell are you two talking about?" Reimu asked as Koakuma was helping her clean blood from her hair.

"You do not need to know any more than what I have already told you." Yukari said.

Reimu clenched her teeth as she got up from her seat. She went to say something in till someone else suddenly entered the library.

"Ayayayaya. What is with this hostile atmosphere?" A girl with a pair of black feathered wings, red eyes, black hair and wearing a white blouse and a black short skirt said. A small gap suddenly opened in front of her. A hand popped out and grabbed a hold of her neck. "Guh! Uh… is this… a bad time…?" The girl struggled to ask.

"Well look who it is. Aya Shameimaru. Just the tengu I wanted to see." Yukari said with one of her arms submerged in one of her gaps. "Listen well, tengu. I need you to visit every powerful being you can find and tell them that Gensokyo's existence is at stake. Tell them to find a young man from the outside world by the name of Max and kill him. Tell them that the first one to bring me his head gets a reward that only I could give for added motivation. You understand, tengu?" Yukari said.

"Y-Yes… no problem…" Aya said.

"And just how do you expect them to fight him when his power increases every time he uses them?" Remilia asked.

"Do whatever it takes. He is still just a boy from the outside world after all." Yukari said as she let Aya's neck go.

"I still do not see how turning him into our enemy is going to help us." Remilia said.

"That is because all you know is this Earth and nothing else. You haven't seen what I have seen behind those cold stars that you look up at without a care in the world. You never have had eyes glaring back at you from the vastness of space like I have. So please, Remilia Scarlet, do not ask any more questions and just do what I say." Yukari said as she and Remilia glared at one another with hostility. She then looked at the others as a gap opened behind her. "Just do what you can. We cannot allow him to wonder around Gensokyo freely any longer. The fool has no idea what terrible forces he's playing with…" Yukari said as she opened up a gap and disappeared into it.

Reimu sighed. "Damn it. More work to do." She turned to face Marisa. "You continue to find a way to wake Alice up. We could use her help." She said as she prepared to leave.

"You got it, ze." Marisa said as she gave Reimu a thumbs up.

"Ayayayaya. I guess I better be going too." Aya said as she rubbed her sore neck.

"Sakuya." Remilia said as she stood up from her chair.

"Yes, milady?" Sakuya said.

"I want you and Meiling to search for Max as well."

"But mistress. We lost to that man the first time we fought him."

"I do not want you to fight him, Sakuya. I want you to find him and bring him to me. Oh, and get those fairies who like to sneak in here to help if you find them."

"I doubt we could convince him to come with us as well."

"Of course you can. Just use your womanly charms." Remilia said as she smiled at Sakuya.

"Eh? Mistress you can't be serious…" Sakuya said as she became flustered.

"That I am, Sakuya. We must find him before that gap youkai does which is why I will search for him as well."

"But why?" Sakuya asked.

"I do not know what that youkai knows about that power the young man has, but I do know that we cannot risk turning him into an enemy of Gensokyo."

"Isn't he already?" Sakuya asked.

"Not yet. We get him on our side and we gain a powerful weapon against whatever is coming our way. He may be what's drawing them to us, but I doubt killing him now will stop their approach." Remilia said as she headed for the door to leave. "Patchy, the mansion will be left in your care for now. Please look after Flandre while I am away."

"Of course, Remy. All I ask is that you decide rather or not that boy is a threat or not before it is too late." Patchouli said. Remilia nodded as she and Sakuya left the library.


	7. Chapter Seven: Underground

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopefully nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"Fuck it's cold." Max said with his arms wrapped around him as he tried to warm himself up. "I wonder if I can find that store again and get me another shirt…" Max sighed as he looked around at the endless number of trees. "Doubt I'd be that lucky. I should just fly since I've gotten better at it thanks to that fight with that vampire girl, but I don't need to draw any more attention to myself than I already have." He continued to walk through the cold forest with no sense of direction when he suddenly sneezed. "Damn it. I'm fucking lost again." He said as he shivered. "_I need to get me a shirt then find out what is causing those nightmares. I've been a little worried ever since the vampire told me that my power wasn't the cause. If they haven't been able to find the source and it isn't me then it's possible that what is causing them might not actually be a resident of this place. It's a small chance, but with me being around and using more power than I wanted, one of those things might have manifested here since I arrived." _Max let out a drawn out sigh. "_But where the hell do I even begin to look?" _Max's ear twitched to the sound of one of the bushes rustling. "Hmm…" He held out his hands toward the sound, grabbing something with his telekinetic power. "Gotcha." He then lifted a black cat with two tails out of the bush. The cat squirmed in the air as it tried to free itself. Max's tense expression quickly softened up at the sight of the cat. "Oh I'm sorry kitty!" He exclaimed as he brought the cat into his arms. "You scared me there." He began to pet the cat as it continued to try and get away. "Wait a minute… You're that cat Mokou set on fire. Sorry about that. Well your tail… tails look alright." Max's face suddenly tensed up again as he slowly stopped petting the cat. "Wait a damn minute here..." He then grabbed a hold of the cat's neck and with that the cat began to meow wildly. "Alright fucker, you had me there. Who and what are you? Some kind of shape shifter?"

Max and the cat were then suddenly surrounded by smoke. The smoke quickly faded away, revealing a girl in front of Max. The girl had red hair that was styled into twin braids and with black ribbons. She had dark red eyes and black cat ears. She wore a black and green decorated dress.

The girl was rubbing her neck and coughing. "H-How did you know?" The girl said.

"Very easily. Now answer me or you won't live long enough to answer any more questions." Max commanded as he glared at the girl.

"O-Orin. I'm a Kasha." Orin said nervously as she took a step back.

"Okay. Now why were you following me?"

"I wasn't! I was just… um…" Orin trailed her words as she looked away from Max.

"Bullshit. Did that vampire send you to track me or something?" Max said as he crossed his arms.

"No. My master sent me up here to-" Orin covered her mouth as she grew more nervous.

"Who is your master and where is he? Speak!" Max said as he heightened the volume of his voice.

"She's not a he! Her name is Satori Komeiji and she lives in the Palace of the Earth Spirits. Umph!" Orin said, covering her mouth again as she finished her sentence.

"Palace of what? Err… never mind…" Max said as he started to rub his forehead. "Now why did she send you up here if not to follow me?"

"She wanted me to find out what I could about the nightmares plaguing Gensokyo." Orin said as she tried to not show her fear. "_Not exactly, but I can't tell him that…"_

"Uh huh… So you are having nightmares where you live as well?"

"Yup! The underground youkai have started having nightmares a couple days ago." Orin said then cringed. "_Damn it! Didn't want to say that. He's so scary…"_

Max looked at her with surprise. "Wait a minute. Underground? And just a couple days ago?"

"Yup."

"_Just a couple days ago? Meaning if it is a horror causing the nightmares, it may night be a powerful one if its range of causing nightmares is small. Plus it may mean that it is now located underground, or where ever."_ Max thought as he rubbed his chin. "_Best lead I have so far."_

"Um… Can I go now?" Orin asked as she kicked at the ground.

"Take me to where you live." Max commanded.

"Eh?"

"I said take me to the underground or where ever this palace is."

"B-But why?"

"Because I want to investigate the cause of these nightmares. Now take me there."

"Huh? Why would you want to do that?" Orin said as she raised an eyebrow.

"Why ask why? I'm sure you want the nightmares to end right? Well I want to find out the source of the nightmares. It's a win win situation. So stop asking questions and let's go."

"Alright. Alright… Just follow me. We'll get there faster if we fly."

"We're walking. Now move it." Max commanded.

Orin sighed then nodded as she began to walk with Max following close behind her. "_I'm sorry Lady Satori… I didn't mean to bring such a dangerous person home, but then again…" _Orin slightly glanced to her side to look at Max who was walking behind her. "_Maybe Satori will know what to do with this guy. He might even be able to help us with the nightmare incident. I need to get him to her without troubles so I can tell her what I heard from the vampire and gap youkai." _She crossed her arms then shivered. "_Must he have such a fearful atmosphere around him?"_

After about an hour, Orin and Max were underground, making their way towards the Palace of the Earth Spirits.

"Holy hell! I guess I didn't need a shirt after all…" Max said as sweat poured down his body.

"Hm? Oh, yes. It's only going to get hotter as we get deeper into Hell." Orin said as she walked casually even in the heat.

"Wait… Hell?" Max said, clearly not buying what Orin told him.

"Yup. We're in Hell right now. Well the former Hell. Soon we will pass by the Ancient City and soon be at the palace. It sits below the Blazing Fires so don't expect it to get any colder." Orin said.

Max shook his head in disbelief. "_So… I've finally gone straight to Hell… I need to stop using the common sense of the outside world here, it's just going to make things more confusing then they have to be…"_

After some more walking, Max turned his head to see a large wall with lights coming from buildings behind it in the distance.

Max pointed in the direction of the lights. "Is that-"

"The Ancient City. Yup, we'll be at the palace shortly." Orin said.

Max nodded. His nose then caught wind of something in the air. "Is it me or do you smell alcohol?" He said as he continued to sniff the air.

"Yup I do." Orin said as she also started to sniff the air.

"You should know well enough that that could only mean one thing, little Orin." A woman said as she made her presence known. She had long, straight blonde hair, red eyes, and a single red horn coming out of her forehead. She wore a white, short sleeved shirt with a red trim at the cuffs, neck, and bottom and a dark blue translucent skirt with red highlights and trim. She had manacles with broken chains on her wrists and ankles.

"Oh, Yuugi!" Orin exclaimed as she spotted the woman. "Yup, I should have known you would be around here at this time." She said as she lightly bonked her head with her fist.

"My… you sure have made one hell of a catch there, Orin. Mind introducing him to me?" Yuugi said as she looked Max over.

"Oh, him. Yes, well…"

"Max." Max said as he held out his hand. "_She's taller than me and she has a frikin horn sticking out of her forehead…"_

"Yuugi." Yuugi said as she grabbed Max's hand and gave him a firm, hard handshake. "So my Orin here has caught her a man from the outside world. How did you manage to find him before any of the above ground youkai got him?" She said as she put an arm around Orin's shoulders.

"Um… no that's not it. Actually, I need to get him to Satori. It is extremely important, Yuugi." Orin said while glaring at Yuugi with a serious expression.

Yuugi looked surprised at first from Orin's glare, but she quickly caught on. "Ah I see." She said as she let go of Orin. "Why don't we all go see Satori together? I've been meaning to speak to her. It has been a while since I've talked with that girl over some good o' sake."

"Okay!" Orin said, seemingly happy to have Yuugi along. Max simply nodded.

"_Well isn't this a surprise. It seems like this human isn't just a normal guy. Maybe he's connected with that big incident that's been going on up there?" _Yuugi thought as she walked beside Orin and with Max close behind the two. Yuugi then grinned. "_Things sure are going to get exciting."_

After a while of walking, the group came to a large palace with many stained glass windows all around it. Max stopped to gaze in awe at the magnificent building.

"Nice place, eh?" Yuugi said as she nudged Max's shoulder. "This would be the Palace of the Earth Spirits."

"Hmm… yeah. Nice." Max said as he was flabbergasted from the sight.

Orin lead the way as they entered the palace. Max was further amazed at the fantastic architecture of the inside of the building.

"_Damn this place is nice. You don't see shit like this in the outside world." _Max thought as he observed all around him.

"I am glad my home meets your standards, young man." A girl said as she entered the large hall from one of the many rooms of the palace. The girl had short, purple hair with a black hairband and purple eyes. She wore a blue shirt with a pink collar, a pink skirt with faint flowery pattern and pink slippers. She also had a red third eye that was positioned over her heart, with cords running to her head and wrists. "You are right, Orin. He is an attractive human." Orin blushed as Max raised an eyebrow and Yuugi smirked. "I am glad you brought him here. It is rare that we have a human from the outside world come here to visit." She said as she walked up to Max. "I am Satori Komeiji and I am Orin's master and the owner of this palace. It is nice to meet you, Max."

"You know my name?" Max said.

"I know quite a bit about you, but do not worry. I wish you no harm and hope you enjoy your stay here in my home."

"Uh huh…" Max said as he grew suspicious.

Satori chuckled. "I see that I have raised a bad flag with you." She turned to face Orin. "Orin. Take Max here to the main living room and get him something cold to drink. I will join you shortly once I have had a word with Yuugi." She said. "_So it seems that this young man was the cause of the mass insanity above ground and it appears that the gap youkai and vampire have two different views on what to do with him. They say that a huge threat is coming our way. The vampire thinks we need this human to help fight against it and the gap youkai thinks he is the cause of it and needs to be destroyed. Interesting… I think I'll have to keep him here for the time being in till I can get some more information. His mind is much too scarred for me to read deeper and find out what exactly his plans are. I'll just have to resort to more conventional means." _Satori thought as she and Yuugi left into another room, leaving Orin and Max alone.

"Um… Right this way please." Orin said. Max shrugged his shoulders and followed her.

Max was sitting on a luxuries couch observing the room as Orin returned with some cold water.

"Here you go." Orin said as she handed Max a glass. Max took it and let her pour water into it.

"Who else lives here?" Max asked.

Orin jumped slightly from the sudden question. "Oh, um… Lady Satori's other pets." She said.

"Pets? Hmm… never mind." Max said.

Satori and Yuugi entered to room after a while. Satori glanced over at Max who was lost in his thoughts, staring at the table in front of him.

"_His thoughts are chaotic. Makes it difficult to read them." _Satori thought.

"Orin! That man needs some sake! Not water!" Yuugi exclaimed.

"But it's a tad too early for sake." Orin said.

"You're crazy. It's never too early for sake." Yuugi said as she wrapped her arm around Orin's shoulders and dragging her down into the other sofa across from where Max sat.

Satori sat in an armchair then began to speak. "I see that you are here to find the source behind the nightmares. I must say I am pleased to hear that."

"And how do you know that?" Max asked.

"I'll be frank. I am able to read other beings' minds which of course include yours." Satori said. Max began to tense up even more than he already was. "That is correct. That means I know a lot more about you than you think." Max quickly got up from his seat with Yuugi and Orin following suit as they stood their grounds. "Now, now. Please do settle down. I may know about that power of yours and just how dangerous it is, but I have no intentions of fighting you. I would much rather you continue on with your investigation and find out what is causing these nightmares. I see those as the problem, not you." Max slowly sat back down as did Yuugi and Orin.

"_Damn. I know Satori told me that we need to keep him from fighting no matter what, but god damn it I would love to fight with this guy and see what he is made of. He be a great sparring partner I'm sure." _Yuugi thought.

"You say you know about my powers yet you-"

"Are not afraid?" Satori said, finishing Max's sentence. "No I am not. Don't be surprised. I know how it is like to be hated and feared because of your power. Others may not see it, but I can tell that the harm you cause isn't done out of malice or spite. You came here to Gensokyo because the barrier around it keeps you hidden from certain beings. You want to become powerful so you can confront those beings so you use our world as your little hidden lab to test your powers and perfect them."

"That's right." Max said.

"In short, you do not care what happens to us, but you do worry about the outside world. The only reason why you want to investigate the nightmares is because you think that a… horror might be causing them. Though you are looking into the incident for your own self-interest, I still thank you." Satori said.

"A horror? What's that?" Yuugi asked.

"Something we don't want to know apparently." Satori said.

"Exactly." Max said as he stood up with Satori, Yuugi and Orin getting up as well. "Thanks for the water, but I think I'll be going now." He said as he went to leave.

"Wait." Satori said, causing Max to stop. "Why don't you stay a while? You can cleanse yourself in our spa and I'll have a meal ready for you for when you get out."

"Yeah that sounds like a great idea. I haven't been in your spa for a while. We're going to need some sake. Come on Orin, you too." Yuugi said.

"A-Alright." Orin said.

"A spa? You've got a spa?" Max said as his mood seemed to lighten up a little.

"Of course I do. Now these two will show you where the changing room is. I will also have a change of clothe ready for you when you get out. Now go. I will not take no for an answer." Satori said.

"Um, uh… whatever." Max said as Yuugi threw her arm around his shoulders. "_Never been in a spa before. Could be nice…" _He thought.

"You're going to love it. It's one of the biggest spas here in The Underground." Yuugi said as she squeezed Max. "I'll get you some of the best sake around as well. This will be great!"

"Fantastic…" Max said in an unenthusiastic tone.

Max, Yuugi and Orin disappeared into the hall way, leaving Satori in the large room.

"Okay, you three can come down now." Satori said.

Three other girls then came walking down the stairs from the second floor of the palace. One of the girls wore a dress that was brown, blue, purple and black. She had curly blond hair and green eyes. The shorter girl wore a black and brown dress that was puffy under the waist and had a yellow ribbon tied around her lower body. She had brown eyes and blonde hair that was tied up in a bun with a ribbon. The smaller girl was in a bucket that was being carried by one of the other girls. She wore a white robe and had dark teal hair tied up in pigtails by white hair beads.

"Sorry for eavesdropping." The girl in the black and brown dress said as she held the bucket.

"That's alright, Yamame." Satori said.

"We were too scared to come down." The girl in the bucket said.

"I think it was just you who was scared, Kisume." The tallest girl said.

"I see you came here to see Yuugi, Parsee." Satori said as she smiled.

"No of course not!" Parsee exclaimed as her face reddened. "We came here to see who that guy with no shirt is."

"I know this." Satori said. Her expression turned serious as she walked up to the three girls. "I am going to need you three's help. It involves that man."

"Eh?" The three girls said.

Max took off his chain belt then undid the button and zipper to his pants. He threw his ragged pants off to the side then grabbed himself a towel and threw it over his shoulder. He walked out of the changing room and into the spa then stopped to glance around the glamorous spa.

"Wow… This is nice." Max said as he nodded in satisfaction. He threw his towel to the ground near the edge of the water then got into the spa, moaning in pleasure as the heated water touched his sore body. "Fuckin a' this is nice." He said as he leaned up against the edge of the spa and stretched his arms out to his sides. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. "_I needed this. I can relax in here in peace and figure out how I'm going to find that horror. Really don't want to, but I can't risk it causing a horror infestation and damaging the veil between realities. I guess I could just let my power leak out and try to lure the thing out, but then those bitches above ground might sense me." _Max thought. He then let out a big sigh. "Oh well. I'll think about it later."

"Think about what?" A woman's voice said.

Max opened his eyes and turned his head to see who the voice came from. He saw Yuugi standing behind him, naked. She held some cups and a bunch of bottles while a towel laid over one of her shoulders. Max quickly turned his head and looked forward, his face red from both the hot water and from seeing Yuugi's nude body.

"I assume I am on the wrong side of the spa…" Max said.

"Wrong side?" Yuugi said as she tossed her towel to the side and got into the water next to Max. "Oh, nope." She laughed. "This is a mixed spa. Here, have some sake. It makes relaxing in the spa that much better. Well actually sake makes everything better." She then poured some sake into a cup and offered it to Max.

"Um… No. I'm not in the mood to drink right now." Max said as he made sure to keep staring straight ahead, not even looking at the cup being handed to him.

"Oh come on now." Yuugi said as she forced the cup into Max's hand. "This is your first time here in The Underground so I'm going to make sure you have loads of fun. Fun always begins with some sake. It also ends with sake." She said as she poured herself a cup of sake.

"I take it that you like to drink?" Max said as he stared into the sake filled cup.

Yuugi let out a loud laugh. "You don't know much about oni now do you?" She said before taking a sip of her sake. "Sake is our blood."

"An oni…?" Max said under his breath.

"Where the hell is Orin? We need to get this little party started already." Yuugi said as she looked behind her. "Hey! Orin! Get your ass out here!" She yelled out.

Orin slowly made her way out of the changing room. Her face was red and she held a towel that was wrapped around her, keeping her body concealed. "I-I'm coming…" Orin said while stuttering her words. "I thought we were going to wait in till he got out."

"I didn't say that. You must of misunderstood me." Yuugi said before downing a cup full of sake. She exhaled heavily before continuing to speak. "The spa is the best place to start a party. Shouldn't that weird hell raven be back from her duties? We could use more company."

"Okuu? Yeah she should have been now that you've mentioned it." Orin said as she got into the spa, keeping a good distance between her and the other two.

"You can't drink the sake just by looking at it." Yuugi said to Max. She then sat her arm around his shoulders. "First time drinking?"

"No. I'll drink it when I feel like it." Max said as he continued to stare at his cup.

"Come on now. You never know when the world might end so you gotta drink while you still can." Yuugi said as she grabbed a hold of Max's cup then forced it to his mouth then tilted it.

The sake went right down Max's throat causing him to cough wildly. "D-Damn it! I said I'll drink it when I want to!" Max said as he continued to cough.

"There we go. We just broke the ice." Yuugi said as she patted Max's back. She then turned to Orin. "And what the hell are you doing all the way over there? I can't reach you to hand you your sake."

"I'm, I'm fine." Orin said

"Now don't you start." Yuugi said as she got up and walked over to Orin. She sat down next to her and wrapped her arm around her neck. "Satori told me what you found out about this guy." Yuugi whispered. "She wants us to keep him in the Underground as long as we can. So a good way to do that is to get him so trashed tonight that he'll have such a big hangover tomorrow he won't want to go anywhere. That's a good amount of time for Satori to do whatever she's going to do."

"I don't see why that requires us to bathe with him." Orin whispered.

"The spa is a great place for bonding. We need to get this guy to not be so tense. Less chance of him going off or something." Yuugi whispered.

"I think he's getting more tensed."

"Nah. He's just being shy. Makes me wonder if he's ever been with a woman. Now get over there and show him your charm."

"Eh? Are you nuts?" Orin exclaimed.

"Shh! We need to get him drinking, but he needs a little motivation. A guy like him will give in to having two attractive women offering him sake in a spa. Remember that Satori asked this of us." Yuugi then smirked. "And maybe you'll be able to have your way with him before the night is out."

"Of course not!" Orin yelled as her face got redder.

Yuugi grabbed Orin's hand and stood up. She walked back over to where Max was, dragging Orin with her. Yuugi sat on one side of Max while Orin reluctantly sat on the other side.

"Sorry for the wait. Just had to have a little one on one chat with Orin. Now let's get this welcoming party started!" Yuugi said.

"I'll be getting out now." Max said as he reached behind him for his towel.

"Eh? Wait what? Why so soon? The party is about to get started." Yuugi said as she faked a laugh.

Max wrapped his towel around him before standing up. "Because I don't like taking long baths. I got other things I need to do." Max said. Orin suddenly grabbed his arm then forced him to sit back down into the spa. Max and Yuugi looked at her with shocked expressions. "W-What the hell?"

Orin had her eyes closed and looked upset, but her tense expression faded as she slowly opened her eyes to reveal her stunning, cat-like eyes. Max blushed as he was caught in her alluring gaze. She leaned closer to Max as he turned his face away from hers. Orin got close enough that Max could feel her breathing into his ear.

"You aren't going anywhere in till you have some more drinks with me." Orin whispered into Max's ear, making him shake a little.

Yuugi grabbed a cup and placed it in Max's hand then helped him lift it. Orin grabbed a bottle then began to pour sake into the cup as she purred seductively in Max's ear. Blood rushed to his face and down to his groin. Orin took the filled cup then placed it to Max's lips, making him chug it. He let out a heavy breath of air after he finished the cup of sake.

"There we go, champ!" Yuugi yelled as she smacked Max's back a few times. "_Damn, Orin… I knew you had it in you."_

"Alright, fine. I'll drink with you girls a little then I'm outa here." Max said as he let Orin pour him some more sake.

"That's the spirit!" Yuugi yelled as she became more excited.

After a long night of drinking, Max ended up passing out in one of the large beds in one of the rooms of the large palace and was now wearing a stylish red robe. He groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

"_Oh, fuck me. Hangovers suck… big time…" _Max thought. "_Fucked up night that was… Fun though…"_ He rubbed the left side of his face that had a red imprint of a hand on it. "_Damn cat girl didn't need to smack me so hard just for grabbing her tits. She was the one leading me on..." _His tired expression disappeared after he fully opened his eyes to see a girl with a pair of black feathered wings and long black hair with a green hair ribbon sitting on top of him. She wore a white short-sleeved shirt and a short green skirt. She also had a large red eye in the center of her shirt. Max smiled slightly as his face turned slightly red. "Damn… Well… not that I don't mind doing this now, but any way we can hold this off in till a little later? Kinda have a big hangover here." The girl said nothing as she gazed at him. His content expression faded as he began to feel a burning sensation all over his skin. "_What the hell? Why does it feel like I'm burning?" _Max thought.

The girl placed her hands on Max's abs then slowly slid them up to his chest then finally to his neck. Max cringed as the burning sensation began to turn into a burning pain.

"_What the fuck is going on? Fuck… Would have totally done this chick if it wasn't for the risk of getting my balls burned up." _Max thought. "Alright. I need to go. Got shit to do. You understand I'm sure." He said as he placed his hands on the girl's wrists and tried to push her hands away. Suddenly, the girl grabbed a hold of his neck and began to choke him. Her nails dug right into his skin, making him bleed. "_What the fuck did I do?"_

Small, glowing yellow orbs began to orbit the girl. The eye in the center of her chest was suddenly filled with what looked like a fiery explosion.

"_Damn it! My entire body feels like it's on fire!" _Max thought.

Max struggled desperately to break the girl's grip as his body began to blister. Tears of blood ran down the girl's face from her horribly bloodshot eyes as her lips curled into a sadistic grin.


	8. Chapter Eight: Infestation

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopefully nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Max struggled underneath the girl as she choked him. The bed they were on suddenly burst into flames, along with anything else combustible in the room.

"Let… me… go… bitch…!" Max managed to say as he pulled at the girl's hands.

The girl licked her lips as she continued to strangle Max's neck, seemingly enjoying squeezing the life out of him. She let out small chuckles as she watched him squirm beneath her.

"_Fucking hell. She's out of her mind. She leaves me with no choice." _Max thought. He then summoned some of his unnatural strength and kicked her in the back of the head with his foot, knocking her off of him. He rolled off the bed as he held his bloodied neck. "You… damn bitch…" Max said as he gasped for air. "You better have a good reason for trying to kill me."

The girl was on her knees on top of the bed, rubbing the back of her head. Her skirt was lifted up, revealing her snow white panties. Max walked over and stood behind her.

"Answer me you bird bitch thing!" Max yelled as he slapped the girl's behind.

The girl yelped as she shot up straight, holding onto her pained behind. She quickly turned around and delivered a jab right into Max's face. The force of the blow sent him out the window of the room. He broke through the glass window and screamed as he plummeted about three stories before hitting the ground.

Max laid on his back, staring up into the sky. "Yeah…That one hurt…" Max said, blood dripping from his nose.

The girl suddenly flew out the window Max had just broke through with her wings spread out, showing their true size. She dropped towards Max as she prepared to stomp on him. Max quickly rolled to the side to avoid the girl. She slammed into the ground, putting a large dent into it and causing the ground to tremor. Max jumped to his feet and stood his ground in preparation of the girl's next attack.

"Let me guess… That bed I slept in just so happens to be yours and now you're pissed. Am I right?" Max said. He quickly looked around him as a ring of fire suddenly formed around the two. "This your way of saying yes?"

The girl held her hand above her head. A small glowing, yellow orb formed in the palm of her hand then began to grow. Max watched stunned as the orb grew about three times larger than the girl.

"_It looks like the fucking sun…!" _Max thought.

The girl's stern expression quickly changed as she smiled sadistically. She threw the burning ball at Max the moment it grew to about five times her size. Max dove out of the way as the ball made a path of fire along the ground passed him.

Max formed a cocky grin as he held up a middle finger at the girl. "Ha! Throw more of those slow moving attacks all you want! Damn things won't ever hit me!" Max yelled to the girl.

Suddenly a light shined behind Max, along with a loud bang that shook the ground. He turned around in time to see a mushroom cloud off in the distance before being hit by the blast of the explosion. He yelled as he was sent flying towards the girl. The girl delivered a devastating kick to Max's back the moment he came within range, knocking the wind out of him and snapping his spine. He fell to the girl's feet as he spat up blood.

"Yeah…That one really… really hurt…" Max struggled to say.

The girl held her right hand out to her side. An orange, rod-like device suddenly formed around it. She then pointed the device at Max's face. His expression turned to fear as the end of the rod began to glow. The girl's grin grew more dark and twisted.

"_Fuck me slowly… She's going to kill me."_ Max thought as sweat poured down his face.

Max clenched his teeth then smacked the rod, making it point into the air. An orange, burning beam fired from the tip of the rod and into the air. Max's power healed his spine while leaving the pain lingering. He quickly got up from the ground then drove his fist into the girls chin, knocking her into the air a bit. He followed up with a jab to her stomach, sending her into the wall of the palace. She cracked the wall as she hit it then fell to the ground. She quickly got back onto her feet then pointed her cannon at Max and fired off another beam attack. Max stood his ground as the beam crashed into an invisible shield he had formed around him in the last second. He then formed a sword and flew through the dust filled air towards the girl. He swung his sword at her with her blocking the swing with her arm cannon. They both swung at each other with their respective weapons several times, letting out a loud clang every time they connected.

Satori ran outside to see Max and the girl fighting one another. "What the hell does Utsuho think she is doing?" She exclaimed. Her furious expression suddenly turned into dread. "What? I can't read her mind… It's as if there is nothing there to read…" Satori quickly threw her arms up in front of her as a gust of wind hit her. "Damn it. We're supposed to keep him from fighting."

Orin ran out of the palace in a green night gown. "What was that explosion?" She asked. She then caught a glimpse of Utsuho and became even more surprised. "Okuu? What is she doing? Nya! She's fighting Max!" She exclaimed as she panicked.

"Orin, there is something wrong with her. We need to stop her before Max starts to get serious." Satori said. She and Orin shielded their faces with their arms as another blast of air hit them. Orin nodded then both of them ran to jump in between Max and Utsuho. Max stopped his attack then jumped back when the two got between him and Utsuho.

"What the hell? Get out of my way!" Max exclaimed.

"Max, let us handle this." Satori said as she glared at Utsuho who stopped moving.

"Fuck no. Me and her gots a problem and we need to handle it."

"She is one of my pets so I take full responsibility. There seems to be something wrong with her, so please let me handle this."

"Humph. Fine…" Max said as he began to brush dust off his robe. Utsuho suddenly made her move and fired a beam at him. Satori and Orin were just barely able to jump out of the way. Max quickly spotted the incoming attack then took to the air. "See? The bitch has a problem with me. So I have to end this." His dark power began to envelope him, its dark presence becoming a huge weight on the minds of Satori and Orin.

Satori and Orin started to quiver in fear. "So… this is that man's power…" Satori said.

"I was really hoping not to have to feel that power of his again…" Orin said as she began to back away from where Max was. "It's even scarier now than before…"

Satori turned around towards Utsuho. "Utsuho! Stop attacking right now!" She commanded.

Utsuho ignored Satori's command and took to the air. Several suns the size of her formed around her. She then fired the suns at Max all at the same time. Blood red energy seeped out of Max's body and formed into orbs before firing off all at once. Their attacks hit one another, creating a large explosion in the air. The shockwave from the blast sent Satori and Orin to the ground.

"Damn it. Everything went wrong so quickly." Satori said. "Orin, you need to find Yuugi. We need her help in stopping those two." Satori then noticed Orin had reverted back into her cat form and was cowering in fear. "_I'm sorry Orin. You've already experienced this man's horrible power once before. Your mind must not have fully recovered from it." _Satori sighed then got up. She picked up Orin and headed back inside the palace. "_I need to find Yuugi and stop those two before something terrible happens." _She suddenly cringed as pain began to fill her head. "_But how long will we last under that man's oppressing power?"_

Utsuho charged forward and tackled Max out of the air. They both smashed into the ground then quickly recovered. Max formed a burning red glob in his hand then went to hit Utsuho with it, but she caught his hand then countered with a knee to the groin.

Max hunched over as his eyes watered. "You fucking bitch!" He yelled.

Utsuho delivered an upper cut into Max's chin, sending him into the air then firing off a barrage of large burning orange danmaku at him. Max defended himself with an invisible shield then dove for Utsuho, flying through the danmaku as they pelted his shield. Utsuho began to charge one of her shots, building up energy for a more powerful attack. She fired her shot as Max got near, unleashing a far more powerful energy beam. Max was too close to dodge so he ended up taking the hit. The beam shattered his shield, enveloping Max in an inferno. His scream was overshadowed by the sounds of destruction the beam made. He was sent a great distance from the palace before he was able to pull himself out of the beam. His robes were almost completely burned up as it no longer covered his torso and barely hung on his waist. He placed his hands on his knees as he hunched over and tried to catch his breath.

"God damn. Awesome attack, but I think that knee to my balls hurt more. Fucking bitch…" Max said as he panted. He stared at the palace that was now in the distance as he scouted for Utsuho. "_Something's not right here. She's not showing any symptoms of being affected by my power like the others and I'm even focusing it on her. Is she immune or she already insane? My money is on the latter..." _He thought. He then caught a glimpse of some yellow lights coming from the palace. He focused his eyes as he tried to see the source of the lights. His eyes widened as he noticed a huge barrage of danmaku heading towards him. "Holy mother fuck!" He yelled as he took to the air. The danmaku peppered the entire area, littering the land with holes.

Max flew towards the palace, his eyes scanning all around him as he searched for Utsuho. He quickly looked up as a shower of sun like danmaku fell down upon him, forcing him to quickly dodge them. The danmaku that missed him produced mushroom shaped explosions as they hit the ground, causing the entire Underground to quake with every hit. Max's invisible shield protected him from the fiery shockwaves the explosions caused.

"What is this? World War Three?" Max said as he continued towards the palace and searched for where the danmaku were coming from. "Bitch will draw everyone's attention if she keeps this up. This has the end."

Utsuho suddenly attacked Max from below, firing off more barrages of sun danmaku. Max moved in an unnatural way through the air as he made his way towards Utsuho, her attacks seemingly going through him at times. He countered Utsuho with a devastating kick towards her head. She blocked with her cannon, but the blow shattered it and sent her spiraling into the ground below. She quickly got up then placed her hands above her head as if holding something. A small sun appeared above her hands and began to grow at an alarming rate. It didn't take long to grow to five times her size and it continued to grow further.

Max hovered in the air as he studied Utsuho. "_She's a walking nuclear arsenal now ain't she?" _Max folded his arms and grinned. "_Bitch could kill me with that if she could land a direct hit, but that's not going to happen. She's going to miss and," _Max turned his head to peer at the palace behind him. "_Hit __her own home. Really must be somethin wrong with her if she's willing to risk killing her master. Oh well. Not my problem." _

Utsuho began to laugh hysterically as the sun in her hands reached to about ten times her size, scorching the land all around her. "Scream as your very soul burns in a sea of nuclear fire!" She screamed. She braced herself as she prepared to throw the giant sphere of energy. Suddenly, Yuugi appeared and delivered a karate chop to the back of her head, knocking her out and stopping her attack. The sun she formed did not disappear and began to spasm violently as it slowly fell to the ground.

"Get on outa here!" Yuugi yelled as she punched the giant sphere of energy, sending it away from her and Utsuho and away from the palace. She dove on Utsuho as the sphere detonated in the distance, releasing a huge burning shockwave. Max merely formed an invisible barrier around him as flames enveloped all around them. The lands around the palace were left scorched by the time the winds died down and the dust settled from the explosion.

Max floated back to the ground near Yuugi as she got up on her feet, coughing from the dust. "Wow! Didn't even have time to have a drink after I was woken up." Yuugi said. She bent down then lifted the unconscious Utsuho up onto her shoulders. "Satori said that there was something wrong with her. Sure as hell is if she was about to blow up the palace. Hope she didn't hurt you in her little freak out."

"Nope." Max said as he turned around and began walking. "You seem to have gotten things under control here so I'm leaving."

"Why so soon? Come have some breakfast. I'm sure you're hungry after this little skirmish." Yuugi said.

"No."

"Oh come on. You could use a change of clothe too." Yuugi said as she pointed at Max's ravaged robe.

Max looked down at himself. What was left of his robe fell off, leaving him in his boxer shorts. He then sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Guess I could grab a quick bite to eat…" He said as he made his way towards the palace. Yuugi laughed as she followed close behind him.

Satori was standing outside the main doors of the palace when Max and Yuugi returned. Her cheeks turned slightly red as she saw Max. "Oh my… That was a well made robe too. Oh well. I will get you a set of new clothe as a small thanks for stopping Utsuho without killing her."

"You have Yuugi to thank. She's the one who stopped her." Max said.

"True, but you didn't kill her and for that I thank you."

"Once again you have Yuugi to thank for that."

Satori giggled. "You really are a boy. You put up a tough front while your heart remains soft. I know very well you could have easily killed her yet you didn't."

"Yeah only because she has a nice ass." Max said as he walked passed Satori and into the palace. Satori and Yuugi chuckled as they followed him.

"Bring this trouble maker to the living room so I can have a look at her, Yuugi." Satori said.

"You got it. We need to check her neck. I hit something when I struck her." Yuugi said.

"I know this." Satori said.

"Hit something?" Max asked as he stopped to turn and face Yuugi.

"Yeah. I'm sure of it. Definitely something that shouldn't be there." Yuugi said.

The three entered the main living room of the palace. Tons of broken glass was on the floor from the windows that were shattered during the fighting. Satori cleared one of the sofas of debris, allowing Yuugi to lay Utsuho on her stomach. Satori then lifted Utsuho's hair. She and Yuugi gasped as they saw some sort of thing attached to the base of Utsuho's neck. Max sighed as he recognized the repulsive thing.

"Max… Mind explaining better what this thing is?" Satori said as she continued to stare at the wiggling thing.

"Stop reading my mind. Jeezus…" Max said as he walked over to the sofa. "This fucking thing happens to be a kind of parasitic horror. What these ones do is find a host and take control of their mind and use them for whatever fucked up plans the true horror it came from has."

"True horror? That means-"

"There really is one of those horrid beings here…" Satori said, interrupting Yuugi.

"And it's probably not even one of the really bad ones either." Max said.

"How many of these parasites can it make?" Yuugi said as she faced Max with a concerned look. Max said nothing as he looked at Satori.

Satori clenched her hands. "As many as it wants and this isn't the only kind of parasite it can create and infect other beings with." She said with Max nodding to her answer.

"Wait? What?" Yuugi said.

At that moment Orin came running into the room. "Okuu! I'm so glad you're back!" She said as she ran up to the sofa. "Nya! What the hell is that on her neck?" She said as she jumped back in surprise.

"Max, can you please remove this thing from Utsuho? Satori asked.

"What makes you think I can remove it?" Max said. Satori simply stared at him. He sighed then walked over to Utsuho. "Oky doky. This should be simple but-"

"She might be left with mental scars." Satori said, finishing Max's sentence for him. Max glared at her angrily. "Sorry. Bad habit." She said as she gave Max a weak smile.

Max turned to the thing that wiggled wildly behind Utsuho neck. He reached out for it and then grabbed a hold of it, causing it to thrash around violently in his hand. The thing began to swell as Max slowly pumped his energy into it. Satori quickly backed away while Yuugi and Orin continued to carefully watch. The thing popped after it bloated up enough like a balloon, splashing blood all over the faces of Yuugi and Orin. They both stood silent in disgust and shock.

Satori walked up to Max as he cleaned blood off his chest with a piece of cloth he tore from Utsuho's skirt. "See, Max? Doesn't it feel good to help others?" Satori said as she smiled at Max.

"Don't annoy me." Max said.

"So you plan on going to the Ancient City to find that horror?" Satori asked.

"What did I say about reading my mind?" Max asked.

"Why the Ancient City?" Yuugi asked.

"Because if it can infect people with parasites it would hide out where there are the most people and the place with the most people here in the Underground just so happens to be the Ancient City." Satori said, angering Max even more. "Sorry, Max. You have a rough way of telling information to others so I translate it into a nicer language."

"Whatever, just get me some damn clothe." Max said.

"Of course. Orin? Erm…" Satori sighed as she noticed Orin was still in a state of shock from having blood splashed all over her face. "Orin." She said as she smacked Orin's behind.

"Nya!" Orin cried out. "Y-Yes Lady Satori?"

"Go get some durable clothe for Max. He'll need it." Satori said.

"Y-Yes!" Orin said. She left the room, still shaking a little.

"I take it you will be going back to the Ancient City as well, Yuugi?" Satori asked.

"Yup. I'll go with Max once he is ready." Yuugi said.

"I don't need your help." Max said.

"It's not that I'm going to go to help you. The Ancient City is my home so I'll be going whether or not you need help." Yuugi said.

"Whatever." Max said.

"If I may provide you with some advice, Max." Satori said.

"No."

"You should begin to trust people more. You can't live in this world alone forever."

"I've don't a good job so far. No need to stop now."

"This is the very moment you should stop. A friend can help relieve you of some of your torment." Satori suddenly found the tip of a sword poking her throat. She kept a stern look as she glared at Max.

"Not only should you stop reading my mind, you should also stop talking." Max said.

"Hey now. We all need to just chill. Just take a deep breath and relax." Yuugi said. She then began to inhale large amounts of air then exhaling heavily, repeating the process several times.

Satori sighed in relief as the sword that Max had pointed at her throat vanished into black smoke. "Sorry to probe you, Max, but you really should listen to others more. At least take their words into consideration."

"I'll think about it."

Orin returned with a set of clothe made out of a sturdy, black material. "Here you go." She said as she handed them to Max who immediately started to put them on.

"About time. Hurry up, Max. We got work to do." Yuugi said.

"Alrighty then. Let's get out of here." Max said as he finished putting on his new clothe.

Satori and Orin waved Max and Yuugi off as they left for the Ancient City.

"Can we trust he won't cause more harm than whatever that thing is?" Orin asked.

"I don't know, Orin. He has a thick wall built around his heart that prevents me from seeing his true motives." Satori said then folded her arms as she started to think. _"He's struggling to fight against his hatred and despair, but he needs help before those emotions consume him completely. If only he wasn't so damn stubborn..."_

Max and Yuugi soon arrived in the Ancient City of the Underground. Some of the youkai inhabitants of the city walked around nervously while others looked around them with a sense of paranoia. Some leered at the two as they walked by.

"Huh… The nightmares must be make'n em all crankier than usual." Yuugi said as she glared back at the youkai. "Usually they aren't all that caring about seeing a human here."

Max stopped then let out a long, drawn out sigh. "I was afraid of this…" He said.

"Don't worry about it. They won't attack you with me here." Yuugi said as she patted Max's back.

"I need to kill them now before it's too late." Max said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Huh? Kill? Wait a damn minute here. We didn't come here to kill anyone." Yuugi said as she became angry from Max's words.

"I didn't either, but we were too late to save them."

"Will you stop leaving me out of the loop and start explain'n to me what's going on?"

"To be blunt, this city is infested and must be purged."

"Okay that's it." Yuugi said before grabbing Max by his shirt and lifting him off his feet. "I think you are a cool kid, but I will not let you say things like that, even if you are just kidding around." She said as she glared angrily at Max.

"Okay." Max flatly said.

Yuugi looked at him confused. "Okay?"

"I won't say anything more. I'll just do what I first came here to do and destroy the original horror. You can deal with the rest."

"The rest? Damn it will you be more clear?" Yuugi said as she shook Max a little.

"You remember that parasite that was stuck to the winged girl? Well that's not the only kind of parasite that horror can create."

"Yeah I remember Satori mentioning it."

"Well you see all these people around us? They are infected with another kind of parasite. One much worse than that mind controlling one." Max said.

Yuugi lowered Max back down to the ground as she looked around her, watching as the condition of some of the youkai worsened. Some began to vomit blood while others began to violently scratch at their throats. Others yelled out mindless gibberish.

"What the hell…" Yuugi said.

"These people are infected with a parasite that slowly breaks down the body and mind of its host before turning the host into a horror." Max said. Sweat began to fall down Yuugi's paled face. "So… Can I kill them before we have more than we can deal with?"

Yuugi was no longer looking at Max instead looking at something behind him, her face paling even more. Max quickly turned around him to see one of the youkai was spasm terribly on the ground, screaming in agony. Max and Yuugi both watched in horror as something started to poke through the youkai from the inside of him. Spider like appendages began to rip out from his body. Blood gushed from his mouth as he continued to scream in utter pain before another spider leg thrust itself out of his mouth, silencing him. His torn body then bloated to a disgusting size. Max and Yuugi shielded themselves as the youkai burst in a shower of blood, revealing a freakish creature before them. The thing was hard to describe, but it resembled a terribly disfigured spider that floated in the air. It consisted of a head of a horrific spider with its bloody spider legs sticking out from the back of it, among other things. The thing was of an unearthly color and had an ethereal look to it. Max looked as if he was about to vomit from seeing the youkai exploding and Yuugi stared in horror at the vile creature.

"What the hell is that thing?" Yuugi asked.

"This would be a horror. It's just a newborn, but it'll try and kill us without mercy like any other horror." Max said as he stood his ground.

"Should things like this even exist?"

"Not in our reality…"

The thing launched forward with an eerie screech. Yuugi watched helplessly as she found herself unable to move. Max formed a sword then cleaved the horror, cutting it in two. The horror's dreadful screech could still be heard for a moment after it dissipated into thin air.

Max sighed as his sword dematerialized. "Even after all the shit I've been through and all the horrors I've seen, even the most smallest and weakest of them still succeeds in creeping me the fuck out."

"Damn it. I cannot believe I just stood there. It felt like rigor mortis started to settle in as I looked at it. I'm sorry, Max."

"Don't be. If you didn't react the way you did I'd begin to expect you were one of them." Max said. He then gritted his teeth.

A cold chill ran up Yuugi's spine, causing her to turn around. She gulped as she backed up into Max, their backs now touching one another. "So… You think the entire city is infected?" She asked as she brought her fists up to her chest, preparing to fight.

A bunch of the other youkai began to spasm as they were ripped apart from the inside out.

"If it is I will destroy this city, even if I have to go through you first. Not only me, but this world has everything to lose if too many of these things hatch." Max said as a sword formed in his hand.

"I told you I don't want to hear that kind of talk from you, but I'll let it slide this time if you agree to drink with me some more after we clean these things up."

"I have other things I need to do."

"Then after all that. After we fight off all the terrors that come our way, we will go drinking."

"There is no 'we'."

"Yes there is damn it. Me. Orin. Satori and a bunch of others. We will help you in whatever you are trying to do. We are just as involved in this as you are now. You're not alone in this."

"Stop acting like you know what my plans are."

"Stop acting like you don't give a damn about anyone else. You're good at hiding you're feelings, even from Satori, but not me. You're just a normal kid that's involved in something he should have never been involved in."

"Oh now you know me?" Max sad as he rolled his eyes.

"I know what you're not. And that is enough."

"You don't know jack shit… Not that I want to stop bullshitting with you, but these pricks aren't going to let us chat for much longer…"

Dozens of lesser horrors surrounded Max and Yuugi, silently looking at them with their pitch black eyes. Even though it was impossible to tell what kind of expression they had, it wouldn't be hard to guess that it was an expression of monstrous hunger.


	9. Chapter Nine: Horrors

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopefully nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

With an agonizing screech the lesser horrors charged right for Max and Yuugi. Max took to the air with his sword drawn while Yuugi stayed on the ground with her fists ready. None of the horrors went for her, instead focusing on Max.

"What the hell? I'm your opponent to!" Yuugi yelled as she took to the air in anger. She was quickly sent back to the ground after Max let out a rippling shockwave, grunting when she hit the ground. "Hey Max!" She said as she got back up on her feet. "You forget I'm here or somethin?" She clenched her teeth as she noticed that none of the horrors seemed to have been affected by Max's shockwave. "Damn things are making me look weak. I better step things up."

Max let out another shockwave, the blast just barely knocking the horrors back as they began to swarm him. "Oh what the flying fuck is this horse shit? Weak shits are barely fazed by that attack." He said as he grew frustrated. "Fuck it. I'll just slash each one of you individually." He began to swipe at the horrors with his sword, flinching every time he sliced one. The strange creatures made no attempts to dodge his strikes even as their numbers began to quickly dwindle.

Yuugi jumped into the fray with her fists out in front of her. She punched one of the horrors that tried to strike Max from behind, seemingly knocking it out of the sky, but it quickly vanished in midair then reappeared behind Max, making another attempt to strike him. "What the god damn hell are these things?" Yuugi said as she grew more frustrated. She grabbed a hold of one of the horrors appendages and tore it off, causing the horror to let out a grisly shriek. Yuugi and Max clasped their hands over their ears as they yelled out in pain. Max was then slashed across the chest by one of the horrors the moment he let his guard down. He then cut the horror in two in retaliation.

"Damn it! If you are going to kill them then kill them! Don't make them scream anymore then you have to!" Max yelled out furiously.

"Shit. My bad." Yuugi said. She then pulled out a spell card. "I'm done being made a fool of. Max, you might want to take cover…"

"Just use the damn thing. They will continue to follow me no matter what." Max said as he kicked one horror and cleaved another.

"Why are they only attacking you?"

"It's my power. It draws these kinds of creatures to me. Now fire that damn thing off and kill as many of these mother fuckers as you can!"

"Gladly." Yuugi said with a smirk. "Feat of Strength: Wind Blowing Down from Mt. Ooe!" Suddenly, blue, human sized danmaku came flying from all sides, crashing into the horrors with a deadly impact. Every time one of the horrors was hit, Yuugi felt a sharp pain in her chest. She began to spit up blood after about ten horrors were taken out, ending her spell card. "Guh! Err… Why am I in so much pain? Not one of them ever touched me…" She said as she held onto her chest.

"These things," Max began to say as blood dripped from his nose. "They're so damn easy to kill, but every time you cause them pain, you feel it too." Max sliced the last two remaining horrors as they tried to approach him then he and Yuugi slowly descended back to the ground. "This is yet another reason why we can't have too many of these cocksuckers hatching. Fuck… I feel like my balls were stomped on a few dozen times in rapid session."

"I hope that doesn't mean you can't fight anymore." A girl said. Max and Yuugi turned around in surprise to see two girls standing near the gate of the city.

"Oh what now?" Max said with irritation present in his voice.

One of the girls had dark red eyes and long blue hair. She wore a blue dress and blue shoes while caring an apron on her dress. On her head was a black hat that was decorated with peaches. "Hah! Who would have thought we would find the guy we were looking for while checking out those tremors? This is great!" The girl said excitedly.

"Yes, Elder Daughter. We were quite lucky this time around." The other girl said. She had red eyes and short violet blue hair. She wore a white and red shirt with a long black skirt and a hat with a red bow and two long ribbons extending out of it. She had a white and red shawl entwined along her arms and blouse. "But I advise you to be careful with this young man. Someone who can scare the Youkai of Boundaries must be met with caution."

"I'm telling you she's finally gone senile." The girl with the peach hat said with a cocky smirk. She held out her hand to her side, letting a sword of yellow and orange color form in it. She sat the sword over her shoulder and began to stride boldly towards Max and Yuugi. "So you're Max?" She said as she looked Max over. "Heh. They said the guy we were looking for was a handsome man. But you're more like a pretty boy if you ask me." She stopped half a meter away from Max, sticking her sword into the ground beside her then folding her arms. "I'm Tenshi Hinanai of the Heavens and I'm here to challenge you." She said with a strong aura of confidence surrounding her.

Max stared out the girl with a dumbfounded look. He turned to Yuugi then spoke. "Hey Yuug, you know this bitch by any chance?"

"I've heard of her." Yuugi said as she rubbed her forehead. "She's just some stuck up celestial. No one we should waste our time on."

"A what now?" Max said.

"Are you deaf or something, kid? She said celestial." Tenshi said. Max turned to face her while gritting his teeth.

The other woman sighed in disappointment. "Please don't antagonize him needlessly, Elder Daughter."

"Oh please, Iku. I bet his balls haven't even dropped yet." Tenshi said before bursting out into a laugh. Yuugi face palmed as Max grew infuriated.

Max inhaled then exhaled as he tried to calm himself. "You know what. I have something important to take care of. So if you don't mind-"

"What? Too scared to fight a girl? Or maybe you are just shy from lack of experience?" Tenshi said.

Max's furious expression quickly returned. He went to speak, but Yuugi quickly interrupted him. "How about you and mean fight? I haven't fought someone from the Heavens in a long time and I could really relieve some stress." Yuugi said as she cracked her knuckles.

"No. I want to fight the boy who's got the gap hag pissing her bed at night." Tenshi said as she picked up her sword and pointed it at Max.

"If you want to fight him then you are going to have to get through me first."

"Ha! Figures. The boy needs a woman to keep him safe. Truly pathetic." Tenshi said as she shook her head in disappointment.

"Bitch I will fuck you in till you bleed." Max said as he pointed at Tenshi menacingly.

Tenshi turned around, lifted her skirt and revealing her panties, and then started slapping her behind. "Then come and get it you limp dick!" She said as she continued to taunt Max.

"Dead. You're so fucking dead." Max said as he through his sword to the side, letting it dematerialize. He then made a furious charge towards Tenshi.

"Damn it Max let me take care of this and you go get the… err… never mind." Yuugi said as she tried to stop Max, but quickly gave up.

Max reached out to grab a hold of Tenshi's neck, but she swiftly dodged then used her leg to swipe his feet from under him, nearly sending him to the ground before he caught himself. Max slammed his fist into the ground, letting out a shockwave along the ground. Tenshi jumped into the air then retaliated with a barrage of red lasers she fired from some kind of stone. Max let the lasers bounce off his invisible shield then threw some red globs at her before jumping into the air to engage her in close combat. Tenshi used her sword while Max stuck with his fists as they fought one another, their energies swirling all around them.

Yuugi quickly ran over to Iku and grabbed her by her shirt, staring menacingly into her eyes. "Hey! Stop your friend right now. We don't have time for this shit."

"I'm sorry, but she has a legitimate reason to attack him. Plus it's not easy to stop her once she has found a worthy opponent to fight." Iku said, not showing any signs of fear to Yuugi.

"Guess I'm just gonna need to make yuh." Yuugi said as she pulled one of her fists back, preparing to punch Iku. She stopped as a sudden current of electricity ran through her body, stunning her and forcing her to let Iku go. "Guh! Damn it."

"I wish to witness the boy's power. So if you may," Iku said as she pulled out a spell card. "Please step aside."

"Nah. Sorry. There's nothing for you to see here." Yuugi said as she got into her battle stance in preparation for the incoming fight with Iku.

Tenshi elbowed Max in the chest, knocking him back a little. She then pulled out a spell card. "Heaven Sign: Sword of Divine Justice!" She shouted. She charged towards Max with her sword with great power, but he effortlessly caught the sword then countered by kicking her in the chest, sending her to the ground. She landed on her feet, clenching her pained chest. "Wow. Damn he's physically strong. He just blocked all my sword blows. Damn it… For me to not even hurt him after all that… Maybe I underestimated this kid a little bit?"

Max descended back to the ground with his arms crossed. "Here's the deal. You strip right now and I'll forgive you."

"W-What? You think you won, kid?" Tenshi said as she grew flustered.

"Bitch, I won the moment you pissed me off."

Tenshi let out a cocky laugh as she stood straight up, hiding her pain. "I haven't even begun to show you the powers of a celestial."

"If those powers don't involve blowing me then I'm not interested."

"Why you…" Tenshi said as she clenched her fists, trying not to show too much of her anger. She then regained her confident composure. "And what about you? I've heard you have more powers than what you have shown me. Why don't you show more of what you can do? You can drive people insane right? How about driving me insane? Come on now. I wanna see it. I wanna feel it! I don't want to beat you before seeing why you scare the gap youkai so much!"

"Heh. Trust me I would have already if it wasn't for my buddy over there being too close."

"Forget her! Show me now! Show me why you can make that whore of a youkai so scared!" Tenshi yelled out as she grew more frustrated.

Max sighed. "Well if you are going to beg then fine. It's your funeral." Max's dark power started to surge with in him, its maddening presence beginning to sap the sanity and confidence out of Tenshi.

Tenshi wrapped her arms around her as she began to shiver from the sudden chill in the air. "_Wow… This is going to be awesome. If I can beat this guy, I'll have the gap youkai groveling at my feet in thanks. But… can I?"_ She thought as her face turned gloomy. She shook her head then grinned. "_Of course I can. I won't let myself be influenced by this kid's creepy power."_

"_Heh. This chick has a lot of spunk. It's going to be loads of fun breaking her resolve." _Max thought.

Tenshi swung her sword multiple times, sending out red, crescent shaped energy attacks towards Max. The attacks smashed across his shield, doing little damage. Tenshi clicked her teeth then rose higher into the air while sending out a continues stream of energy attacks. She then threw one of her keystones that caused Max to flinch when it smashed against his shield. She smirked once she took notice of his flinching then began to hurl more keystones at him. Max growled in frustration as he began to be pushed back with every keystone that hit him. He swiped his hand through the air, sending a shockwave out that shattered the keystones. Tenshi grunted a little when she let the blast hit her. She flew above Max then let out a rain of red lasers down upon him that once again bounced off Max's invisible shield.

"Pfft. In the end the bitch was way over her head." Max said as he watched the lasers bounce harmlessly away from him. "Again my time has been wasted…" His calm demeanor turned into surprise when he noticed a much larger keystone falling above him. "Oh shi-" The keystone smashed through his shield and forced him to catch the stone. "Holy fuck!" He summoned his unnatural strength then threw the stone off to the side, the stone smashing into a nearby building. He quickly began scanning the area around him. "Where she go…?"

"Scarlet Weather Rapture!" Tenshi called out as she appeared behind Max.

Max quickly turned around to punch her, but was blasted away by a large, red beam of concentrated energy that Tenshi fired. The building he was sent flying into went up in a fiery explosion as the powerful beam destroyed it.

Tenshi blew the smoke that emitted from her hands away, crossed her arms then grinned in triumph. "You may be strong in close combat, but your range fighting is lacking." She said as she watched the rest of the building she sent Max into crumble to the ground. "I think I'll make him strip in front of everyone as a punishment for looking down on me. If he lived that is." She burst out into a laugh, but quickly stopped as she felt an arm wrap over her shoulders. "Eh?" A trickle of sweat ran down her face as she slowly turned her head to the side to see Max right next to her. His clothe were torn in places and he had a few cuts and bruises where his skin was exposed.

"Well I aint dead, but I aint strippin either." Max said as he looked down at the burning remains of the building. He then turned his head and gazed into Tenshi's eyes. "You said you wanted to know why people are scared of me, right?" He asked.

"_What did he do? My body won't move!" _Tenshi thought as she remained frozen from Max's glare.

Max removed his arm from Tenshi's shoulder then floated in front of her with her eyes following his. He placed his hand over her eyes then formed a dark smirk. "This is why."

Tenshi's vision began to darken while the sounds around her faded. Her vision had nearly vanished when she suddenly heard a crackling sound and Max's painful cries. Her vision quickly returned for her to see Max being electrocuted.

"Ah! Iku! Nice save!" Tenshi exclaimed when she spotted Iku behind Max with her hand pointed towards his back.

Iku sighed in relief as she continued to try and catch her breath. Her clothe were dirty and ragged and she had a black eye and big bruise on one of her cheeks. "That was too close…" She said.

"Shit. Sorry Max! I lost my hold on her! She's one slippery fish!" Yuugi yelled out from below. Smoke emitted from all around her, especially from her puffed up hair.

Max nullified the electric current that was racing throughout his body with his power. He grit his teeth in anger then snapped his fingers, sending out a powerful shockwave all around him and knocking Tenshi and Iku out of the sky. The two girls managed to land on their feet when they hit the ground.

Max descended down next to Yuugi then sighed. "You know… If it wasn't for you being here I could have beat these two already and been on my way." He said to Yuugi.

"How am I in the way?" Yuugi exclaimed.

"I've gotten better at keeping my power from inflicting the wrong people with its influence, but I'm not perfect. If you weren't so close I could have gone off and beat these two's asses into the ground."

"Aw… So you do care?" Yuugi said as she placed her hands on her cheeks, faking a blush as she teased Max.

"I'm about to stop caring here in a minute." Max said.

Tenshi held onto her pained shoulder as she walked up to Iku. "Before you say anything, I'll admit that I underestimated him, but that stops now. I refuse to lose to him. He won't scare me off." Tenshi said. She then noticed that Iku's face was deathly pale and frozen in a state of fright. "What the hell is wrong with you, Iku? Don't tell me you're scared of that kid." She said as she turned to face Max and Yuugi. "It's all mind tricks. There is nothing to be scared of at all… at all…" She looked up behind Max and Yuugi. Her entire face paled as she caught a glimpse of something she was never meant to see. She went to scream, but her air way closed up. She dropped to her knees as she began to suffocate, unable to look away from the impossible thing she was now seeing.

"Heh… What's up with them?" Yuugi asked as she stared at the other two girls.

Max quickly took notice of the girl's terrified faces then sighed. "I knew you would come out, but damn it could you have waited ten more minutes?" He asked.

"Huh? Who you talkin to?" Yuugi asked.

"Yuug, whatever you do, do not turn around. Take those two and keep walking that way. Never turn back."

"What yuh talkin about-" Yuugi quickly turned around as she felt a vile presence. "What… the…" Yuugi began to slowly walk backwards away from the hideous monstrosity that floated in the air behind them. Her eyes watered up as she shook her head in denial. She dropped to her knees then face planted the ground, screaming in mindless terror.

"What the fuck did I just say? Jesus F N Christ! Listen to what I tell you…" Max said. "This is exactly why I don't want your people's help. You can't help me." He slowly began to turn around as his blood began to run cold. Sweat ran down his face as he prepared to gaze upon one of the things that should not be. "Fuck… You bastards are as ugly as ever…" He said the moment he looked at the horror.

The large horror was more impossible to describe than the smaller ones. Best way to describe it would be that it had a resemblance of a distorted spider and octopus like creature. Blood dripped from its six fangs as it relished in the fear everyone was giving off. It stared at Max with its eyes of deep darkness, waiting for him to make the first move.

"Alrighty then. You fuckers had me running when I ended up in your fucked up reality, but I have home field advantage this time. Not only that," Max said as he formed a sword in his hand. "But I also have some new tricks up my sleeve and I've been dying to test them on one of you unreal things." Blood spheres formed around him then fired at the horror, causing it to let out an unholy scream. Its dreaded wail made Yuugi, Tenshi and Iku scream in pain as their minds were being torn apart. "_Sorry Yuug, but I can't hold back for your sake. Maybe now you'll understand that this is my fight and mine alone."_

The horror dove for Max, not stopping its horrible shriek. It relentlessly clawed at Max as he dodged and weaved around its appendages. Max slashed at the spider legs and tentacles only for them to quickly grow back. More blood spheres formed around him then fired, pushing the horror back. Blood dripped from Max's mouth as he continued to damage the thing.

"_Damn these things. I really can't hold back." _Max thought.

Max channeled more of his dark power, letting it flow out of him. It seeped out across the Ancient City, driving the weak minded mad. Max jumped into the air then held his arm back as the dark red energy ran down it and into his hand. The horror collected itself then flew towards him. Max then swung his arm, lobbing a formless, chaotic sphere of dark red energy that emitted black sparks. The chaotic attack left a red line trail and black sparks. The attack hit the horror, letting out a huge explosion that rocked the city. The horror's death wail could still be heard over the sound of the explosion in the minds of all who were near. Max vomited a large amount of blood soon after the hit.

Max wiped his face as he waited for the smoke from the explosion to fade away. "_Well that wasn't too hard. Those girls probably got caught in the explosion, but I couldn't afford to be careful. Oh well, they will thank me for ending their nights of endless nightmares if they survived the-" _Max's train of thought was interrupted as he was suddenly impaled through the stomach by a tentacle that came through the smoke. He spurted out blood as he grabbed a hold of the tentacle. "_What the fuck? It should be dead! I felt it die for fuck sake!"_ He thought as his vision began to waver. The smoke slowly started to disappear, revealing the horror in front of him, but the horror had a slightly noticeable difference to its shape and color than before. Max eye's widened in fear. "_T-Two? There were two of them?" _The horror charged towards him, swinging one of its spider legs at him. He caught the leg with one of his arms while he used the other to slowly pull out the tentacle. "_Damn this hurts. Doesn't help that it's eating away at my life energy…" _He shoved the spider leg away from him then went to throw another chaotic energy ball at it, but was impaled by a spider leg from behind. "Gaaaaah!" He yelled out in pain. He struggled to turn his head to see a third horror behind him. "This aint fair…" He said. "_Damn it. I let my guard down for one second and now I'm paying for it." _His vision began to fade from all the blood loss. "_Fuck… Fuck… I need to heal before I black out. I need to get away… or it's all over…" _Being unable to remove the horror's appendage from his body and to allow his power to heal him, his eye lids betrayed him and began to close. "_Damn it all…"_

"Divine Spear: Spear the Gungnir!" A girlish voice echoed around Max, forcing his eyes open.

A large and great red spear of power pierced through the horror that had pierced Max in the back, forcing it to remove its spider leg from him. Max quickly took the opportunity to move away from the two horrors to buy his power time to heal the gap in his chest. The other horror quickly followed him, but was knocked back after being hit by another red spear. Max turned his head and spotted Remilia who looked exhausted and had blood dripping from her nose.

"You! Are you truly that fucking stupid?" Max yelled out to Remilia as she flew to his side.

"You're welcome, Max." Remilia said as she clenched her chest. "I feel like my very own spear pierced my heart… Is it because of what those things are?"

"Yeah. I'm surprised you can even handle looking at them."

"I can barely see them. Black smudges in my vision keep obstructing my view every time I look at whatever those are."

"That either means your mind is too stupid to figure out what it's looking at or it's smart enough to not figure it out. Either way it's not a bad thing."

"It is safe to assume that it is the latter."

"I wonder…"

Remilia covered her ears with her hands when the two large horrors let out their unholy cry. They made their way towards Max in a desperate attempt to devour him. Max quickly shoved Remilia away from him then began to channel his dark power into both of his hands. Remilia had to back away further from Max as his surging power seemed to burn and freeze her skin at the same time.

"Suck it down!" Max yelled out as he lobbed two chaotic spheres at the horrors.

The horrors made no effort to dodge the attack and so were consumed in a large destructive explosion. Remilia covered her face with her arms to shield herself from the powerful gusts of wind, losing her cap in the process. Max, weakened from the pain that had accumulated over the course of the fight with the horrors, was knocked out of the sky from the blast. He nearly crashed into the stone ground before being caught by Remilia.

"You know…? I could totally fall asleep right about now…" Max said as he lay in Remilia's arms.

"You know it is usually the woman that is in the arms of the man. Not the other way around."

"You're no woman so it's alright…" Max said. He was then quickly dropped, grunting the moment he hit the hard ground. "Ow…"

"You really need some work on your manners. You should be grateful that I came to help you myself." Remilia said as she looked down at Max.

"I never asked for your help." Max said as she got back up onto his feet.

"You are going to get it whether you want it or not." Remilia said before sighing. "I'm glad those three underground youkai found me. I didn't expect that you would find yourself down here. You've gotten quite elusive even with that power of yours trailing around you."

"And you came to find me why? You aint here for a rematch are you?"

"Of course not. I won that fight. Well more like my little sister won that fight… but anyways…" Remilia said as she walked over to pick up her cap, brushing off the dirt before placing it back on her head. "We need to quickly leave this place. After you let out that much of your power I am sure someone above ground felt it and may be heading here right now."

"And I should care why?"

"I will tell you why once we get away from here. Me and you need to have a nice quiet chat together anyways. Now let's go."

Max sighed as he was too tired to argue with Remilia. "Alright fine. Lead the way. I suck with directions." He said.

"I shall, but you might want to shake that girl off of you first." Remilia said as she pointed at a girl that was suddenly holding onto Max's shirt.

"The fuck…?" Max said as he finally noticed the girl.

The girl had dark green eyes and flowing, light green hair. She wore a black hat with a yellow ribbon around it, an orange shirt with a green collar and a green skirt. She had a closed, dark blue third eye that was positioned over her heart with cords wrapped around her torso and attached to each of her ankles.

"Hi Max. I was wondering where you were." The girl said in a cheerful voice. "Sister wouldn't tell me so I had to go and find you myself."

"Do I know you?" Max said.

The girl puffed out her cheeks as she grew upset. "You're so mean. I'm Satori's little sister. Koishi. You tried to undress me last night remember?" She said as she smirked.

"Wait what?" Max quickly said as he grew flustered.

"Max…" Remilia said as she grew angry.

Max quickly turned to face Remilia. "The little bitch is lying! I did no such thing… Wait… Oh I remember now!" He said then looked back at Koishi. "I didn't try to undress you. It was your sister who I tried to undress." Max said then covered his mouth with his hand, realizing his poor choice of words. He quickly turned back around to face Remilia who was shaking her head at him in disappointment. "I was drunk and she and the oni dared me to do it, damn it!" He said as he pointed at Koishi who had her tongue stuck out.

"I believe we have more important things to worry about than what you did during your drunken night." Remilia said.

"Yeah. Right." Max said before turning to Koishi. "Well Koishi it was nice seeing you again, but we gotta split."

"But I just found you!" Koishi said as she grew upset, puffing out her cheeks again.

"Well I'm sorry, but I got shit to do."

"Yeah I know. Sister told me all about it." Koishi said with her cheerful smile quickly returning to her face. "But once you are done you need to come back and play with me again."

"Maybe… No promises." Max said as he turned around to leave with Remilia. "Oh, almost forgot. Do me a favor and find Yuug. She might have lived through those explosions."

"Roger!" Koishi said happily.

Max and Remilia both took to the air as they left the Ancient City, leaving Koishi behind who waved them off.


	10. Chapter Ten: Break

First time writing anything let alone a fan fiction so criticism is welcomed. Hopefully nothing looks too bad and that I'll get better at writing with each chapter.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Max and Remilia flew in a hurry as they made their way back up to the surface from the Underground. Max trailed behind Remilia as he struggled to keep up.

"Will you slow the fuck down? I haven't had a chance to relax since I woke up." Max said.

"What's the matter? I thought you were going to take on all of those things by yourself like the tough guy you are and now you are complaining after fighting two of them. I won't mention the part where I saved you." Remilia said, ignoring Max's harsh request and increasing her speed a little.

"Fuck off. I've been fighting since I woke up. First that nuclear bird, then the newborn horrors, followed by the bitch from the Heavens and finally those big horrors. Oh, and there were three of them, by the way, and I didn't expect to be ambushed by that many. And to top it all off, I did it all with a damn hangover. Now why should I care about those above ground finding me?"

"Because some of them want you dead."

"Pfft! Like I fucking care. I say bring em."

"You really shouldn't underestimate the beings of Gensokyo. It seems you even underestimated those… things."

"Like I said, I didn't expect there to be more than one of the bastards and it was my first time ever having an actual fight with those things. Fighting those is different than fighting you people."

"I take it that wasn't your first time encountering those things?"

"Nope."

"Care to tell me how you ran into them before?"

"I ended up in their reality when I fucked up trying to get my ass back to this one."

"You mean when you were trying to get out of that city? Tell me more about it."

"Didn't you say you saw my memories already?"

"Yes, but seeing and understanding are two different things. Tell me more about the city and the one in yellow."

"Don't mention the prick in yellow. There is nothing about him you need to know."

"I must know because I have reason to believe he is heading for us as we speak. Now tell me."

"What the hell makes you think he's coming here?"

"Let's just say that I can see the fate of people and places."

"What? You can see the future or something?"

"It's not that simple, but it's something like that."

"Well don't you worry your pretty little head. The dude in yellow can't come here. It's impossible."

"Is it now?"

"Yeah. Things like him can't just get up and walk into other realities. If they could then this world would have been destroyed a long time ago."

"Hm… That is comforting to hear, but I am afraid I have another source who thinks otherwise. And to top it off, she thinks you are the problem."

"She probably just thinks I'm some sort of insane cultist in service to the Outer Gods or something."

"Are you?"

"Fuck no. Quite the opposite."

"So you are indeed against them. That is good to know."

"That doesn't make me any less of a threat to you or this place. I have no more obstacles in my way now that those horrors are gone."

"And that is where you are wrong, my Dear."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really. The one who thinks you are a threat is the one who helped create the present day Gensokyo. She has mighty powers of her own and if she finds you she will not hesitate to kill you."

"If she is some old and wise person who thinks I'm dangerous, then why did you help me back there?"

"Old, yes. Wise? I am not so sure. She may think you will lead Gensokyo to its doom, but I believe it is your fate to save us from the coming horrors."

"I decide my fate. Not some short vampire."

"I both spared and saved your life so I believe a little gratitude is in order. The least you could do is cooperate with me for the time being."

"I'll think about it."

Max and Remilia landed on the ground and began to walk the rest of the way back to the surface, not speaking any further to one another. When they reached the surface, they were shocked to see that the sky was completely black. Though the sky was dark, the land was lit as if the sun was still shining upon it.

"Well isn't this a strange sight…" Remilia said as she observed the pitch black sky.

"So… Any idea why the sky is like that?" Max asked.

"I was hoping you would tell me."

"I don't gotta clue."

"Let us head back to my mansion and see what Patchouli has to say."

Max sighed. "Whatever…"

Max and Remilia kept a low altitude as they flew to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to reduce the risk of being spotted. It didn't take them long to reach the mansion by air. The front gate of the mansion was still destroyed from Max's and Remilia's last fight while the ground remained littered with holes.

"They still haven't fixed this nor cleaned up anything? Worthless fairies…" Remilia said as she looked at the wreckage in disgust. Max stopped as he was filled with a sudden feeling of dread. "Hmm? What is it?" Remilia asked as she took notice of Max's worried face.

Max snapped out of his trance then looked at Remilia. "Oh… It's nothing."

"Hmm…? Well anyways, come inside so we can talk. I will have Sakuya prepare you a meal if she is back." Remilia said as she entered the mansion with Max right behind her. Anger swelled up in her face when she saw the wrecked state of the inside of her home. "What? They almost had this place fixed!" Remilia yelled.

Max chuckled. "Maybe they had a wild party when you were out looking for me?"

"Shut up, Max." Remilia then spotted one of the fairy maids. The fairy stared at her with cold, empty eyes. "You there. What happened here? Speak." She commanded. The fairy did not answer, instead lunged for her. Remilia quickly prepared to defend herself when the fairy suddenly froze in midair. She looked to see that Max had his hand extended outward, having caught the fairy with his telekinetic power.

"I don't think your servants like you, Remilia." Max said.

Remilia ignored Max's words then looked at the fairy as she squirmed in midair, still desperately trying to reach out for her. "Why did you attack me, your master? Answer me!"

"Don't bother talking to it." Max said as he walked over to the fairy.

Remilia noticed blood dripping from the back of the fairy's head. "What is wrong with her?" Remilia asked. She walked over to the fairy to see what Max was looking at. What she saw was some kind of thing sticking out of the back of the fairies head. "What is that?" Remilia asked as she started to feel a bit nauseated.

"Some kind of parasitic horror. That nuclear bird girl had a similar one stuck to her that was controlling her." Max said.

"So this thing is controlling this fairy?"

"Not… quite…" Max said as he grabbed a hold of the squid like creature. He then ripped it out of the fairy's head, revealing a large, bloodied hole in the back of her head.

Remilia gulped as she saw nothing within the fairy's head. "That thing ate her mind?"

"Yup…" Max said as he dropped the fairy's corpse and his power turned the parasite into ash. "I knew I felt something was wrong…"

Remilia gritted her teeth as she grew angry. "Those things have infested my mansion and who do I have to thank for that?" She said as she glared at Max.

"Don't fucking blame me. These things could have been summoned by someone for all we know and if I find them I'm ringing their fucking neck."

"We will worry about how they got here after we dispose of them… and them as well…" Remilia said as more fairy maids showed up, all with the same cold, empty eyes. Remilia formed a red, glowing spear then dashed for the maids, piercing one through the chest then slicing a few others. The floor quickly became coated with blood as she ruthlessly slaughtered the mindless maids as they hopelessly tried to attack her.

Max rubbed his chin as he fell into deep thought while Remilia finished off the rest of the fairy maids single handedly. "Remilia… You might want to find your sister."

"I don't need you to tell me tha-" Before Remilia could finish her statement, a long, puss covered tentacle suddenly burst out of the floor, impaling Remilia through the stomach then wrapping around her. The white ooze made a sizzling sound as it burned whatever it touched. Remilia moaned in pain as the tentacle began to crush her. She quickly turned into a swarm of bats, reforming next to Max as he studied the thing.

"What… what is that." Remilia said she caught her breath.

"No idea, never seen a horror like that." Max said. Suddenly, more tentacles burst out of the walls and floor and went for him and Remilia. The tentacles smashed against the invisible shield Max formed around the two at the last second. "I hate to tell you, but we might have to damage your mansion more than it already is."

Remilia bit her lip, sending a trickle of blood running down her chin. "Do whatever. Just find it and kill it."

Max grinned. "Gladly." He said as he formed a sword in his hand. He then thrust it into the floor, sending cracks every which way across the floor.

Max and Remilia fell to one of the halls below as the floor broke apart. Some fairy maids were buried under stone and rubble when the floor above them collapsed, but many more remained. Remilia formed two spears then sent them down the hall way, piercing through several of the fairies. The others charged down the hall way, only to be brought down by a hail of red danmaku.

Max watched in surprise at Remilia's killing intent. "Maybe I should let you handle the horror once we find it. You seem to be more pissed at it than I am."

"Don't just stand there. Find it." Remilia commanded as she continued to fire her danmaku at the group of fairies.

"Yes ma'am." Max said. He smashed a hole in the wall to his left to get to the room behind it. He stopped when he found himself in the library and taking notice of the sickening abomination that now inhabited the book filled room. "Good god… Uh… Remilia? I think I found it…"

Remilia threw another spear down the corridor, finishing off the last fairy. "Good. Now let me show you how it's… done…" Remilia paled as she saw the giant horror.

The horror had an octopoid like appearance with an all too human like face. It featured one eye that seemed to be suffering from a severe trauma and its mouth was sideways with jagged teeth. The horrific creature had a disturbing smile.

Remilia covered her mouth as she almost vomited. "What is that thing? How did it get in the library?"

"Why don't you ask it?" Max said as he too felt his stomach turn.

"Patchy… We have to find Patchy."

"Worry about yourself! It's coming!" Max yelled.

Max and Remilia jumped out of the way as the giant horror swung its tentacles at them. Max formed blood spheres around him then fired them at the creature while Remilia pulled out a spell card.

"Heaven's Punishment: Star of David!" Remilia shouted.

A barrage of angled lasers formed everywhere, hitting the horror and creating explosions of small blue danmaku on contact. The freakish creature laughed hysterically as it was pelted with energy attacks. Then, with a speed that seemed impossible for its size, lunged for Max and Remilia, slapping Max out of the air and into one of the bookcases and slicing Remilia's left arm off.

Remilia yelped in pain as her wound was covered with the white, burning ooze. "What is this stuff? I can't regenerate my arm with it on me." Remilia said. She then went on the defensive as the creature thrashed its tentacles at her, shredding the book shelves and the books that they contained. "Damn this abomination." She said before pulling out another spell card. "Dark Sign: Scarlet Netherworld!" A magnificent shower of small, blood red danmaku rained down upon the creature, but with no affect other than to make it laugh harder in its strangely human laugh. "Worthless. Danmaku is worthless against these things. I will need to rely on single, charged shots."

"Guh! That white shit got in my eyes! Fuck it burns…!" Max wailed as he scraped at his face in a frenzy to get the burning ooze off of him.

The abomination dove for Remilia in an attempt to body slam her. Remilia quickly dodged the massive creature and formed two red orbs of energy in her hands then threw them at the creature. The thing made a sickening grunt every time it was hit while it continued to try and body slam Remilia, causing the island the mansion sat on to quake whenever it made contact with the ground. The thing quickly changed its tactics and began to thrash around violently, sending out globs of the burning puss. Remilia countered the flying puss with her danmaku.

The creature suddenly stopped laughing then spoke in a voice that was all too familiar to Remilia. "Stop… Please stop… No more sister… No more… It hurts… Please stop…"

Remilia froze stiff as the thing mimicked her little sister Flandre's voice perfectly. A deathly chill ran up her spine as despair began to settle with in her heart. "What… Did you say…?"

"Stop sister Remi… Stop it now… Why do you hurt me…? Don't you love me Remi…? Why do you lock me away…? Why do you leave me by myself…? Why…? Why? Why why?" The thing continued to use Flandre's voice to unhinge Remilia's mind.

A red spear formed in Remilia's hand as her facial expression grew dark. "Shut up you freak. Do not use my sister's voice!" She yelled then threw the spear, putting her anger behind it.

The spear pierced threw the creature, causing it to scream out in pain while using Flandre's voice. "Stop it…! Remilia…! Stop hurting me…! I'm right here Remi… Can't you see me…?" The thing said.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Remilia screamed as she began to violently throw more spears at the horrible thing.

The thing screamed in Flandre's voice at it was pierced by numerous great red spears. "Nooooo…! Why do you hate me Remi…? Why…? Why…? I tried so hard to be a good girl…! If you wanted me to die… why didn't you just say so…?"

"I don't! I never meant to hurt you! All I ever wanted to do was keep you safe!" Remilia screamed as tears ran down her face. She clasped her hands together then pulled them apart, forming a dense ball of red, magical energy. She quickly threw the ball of energy at the thing, engulfing the entire library in a fiery explosion. She panted as she started to calm down, but with tears still falling down her face. She coughed a little from all the smoke in the room.

"Remilia…"

Remilia's heart began to break even more when she heard the thing speak in a different voice. A voice she has not heard in centuries. "Fa… Fa…" Remilia tried to speak.

"Yes… My little Remilia."

Remilia rubbed her eyes to clear her vision of the tears. She then gasped as she saw a tall, older man with large, glorified wings much like her own in front of her. "Impossible… Father?" She asked in a strained voice.

"Remilia…" The man said. "Look at you… Weak… Pathetic…"

"What? But Father-"

"Do not speak until I allow you!" The man yelled, causing Remilia to look down to avoid his dark gaze. "How did you go from a noble vampire… to something that is not even remotely what a vampire should be? This place… has made you weak… and because of your weakness… you let your little sister…. Flandre… die."

Remilia quickly raised her head. "No! No that's not-"

"Again you speak when you are to remain silent! All we asked of you before our passing was that you watch over your sister and protect her while holding up our noble bloodline. How disappointed you make me feel… "

"Fa… Father-"

"Do not speak to me. You failed me. You failed your mother. You failed your sister. And you failed yourself."

"I'm… sorry. I tried so hard to make you proud. All I ever wanted was to be a great vampire like you, or maybe even better. I did all that I could for Flandre, but all I ever did was push her away. I lost both you and mother. I can't handle living without Flandre as well." Remilia said as her eyes grew dark and empty. She slowly floated down to the floor, falling to her knees the moment she touched down.

The creature slowly made its way towards the mentally disabled Remilia, cackling as it took great delight in her despair. It hovered over her as it prepared to devour her, licking its puss covered lips with its diseased filled tongue. Before the thing could gorge upon her, it was suddenly knocked back as it was hit by another energy attack that again engulfed the library in an explosion and shaking the mansion.

Remilia was brought out of her state of despair when Max kicked her in the side of the head without mercy, knocking her across the damaged floor several feet. "Damn it!" She said as she held onto the side of her face.

"Snap the fuck out of it. Mind games. Learn to fucking deal with them when fighting these things." Max said.

Remilia got up from the cracked floor then started to clean her face off. "What took you…?" She asked.

"Took me forever to get that thing's white stuff off of my face. Sick fucker ain't it?" Max said. Remilia shook her head in disgust.

"Maxi…" The thing said in a girl's voice, causing Max to flinch as he recognized the voice. He then saw a girl standing in front of him.

The girl looked like she was in her late teens with long, brown hair and light blue eyes. She wore modern, western clothe. "Maxi… Why are you protecting this world…? Don't you remember that they killed me…? Why protect them…? Why not make them pay…? Make them pay… For me… For yourself…"

Max pierced through the hallucination with his gaze as he stared down the horror. "Why don't you just shut the fuck up? You talk way too damn much. And you need to sound more like a bitch if you want to sound like Kay." Max said as he held up his middle finger to the thing. He then touched the white ooze that was attached to Remilia's wounded arm, dissolving the substance to allow her arm to regrow.

"Thank you." Remilia said. "If you don't mind… I would like to be the one to finish this thing off."

"Be my guest." Max said. He held his right hand out to Remilia, which she took with her left hand. She then formed a great red spear in her right hand. "Teach it what fear is." Max said as he grinned at Remilia. She simply grinned back.

Max started to vigorously swing Remilia over his head. He then threw Remilia at the vile thing with all his might. Remilia bared her fangs as she readied her spear, causing the vile thing to frown. In almost an instant, she swung her spear twice in an X shape, slicing the horror. She landed behind the thing and let her spear dissolve.

The thing looked at Max and spoke in a deep, distorted male voice. "We're coming, Max. We're here to stay, Max. We're coming here to stay, Max. And you will stay with us, Max. You will stay with us… forever…" The thing said before swelling up then popping, sending a combination of white puss, green bile and blood out all over the room. Max and Remilia quickly jumped for cover to avoid being covered in the fluids.

"I hope there isn't another one of those things somewhere in my mansion." Remilia said as she got up from behind one of the wrecked bookcases and pinching her nose to spare her the horrid smell of blood, bile and puss.

"Who knows? If there is one thing these things are better at than mind screwing other beings, it's hiding." Max said as he sat on the ground to rest.

"Kay." Remilia said. "That thing spoke like a girl named Kay. Who is she?"

"A friend of mind." Max said.

"Lover?"

"Nah. She acted too much like an older sister to me for that kind of relationship."

"Where is she now?"

"Gone. She passed away five years ago."

"How did she die? Tell me."

"I fucked up, that's how. Like always, I fucked up."

"How did you fuck up?"

"She always told me how she wanted to go to college but would have to wait until she could get the money. I thought it would be a smart idea to start taking more money than was allowed that I got when I delivered stolen goods to customers and give the cash to Kay. My bosses found out and were going to shoot me for it, but Kay got in the way. She gave them back the money I stole and even the money she was saving up over the years to convince them to forgive me… and they did." Max looked down at the ground, hiding his face from Remilia's view.

"And then what happened?"

"They forgave me and shot her in my place." Max said as tears began to force their way to the surface. "They shot her right in front of me. Because of my fuck up, she died. Her last words to me were to get away from those people the moment I could and to never go back to them, no matter the reason." Max then looked up at Remilia, tears running down the sides of his face. "Why? Why would she tell me that?" He exclaimed.

"She probably didn't want you to get yourself killed doing something stupid like trying to avenge her." Remilia said.

"I can now without worrying about dying! I could easily kill those bastards for taking her away from me! I could get revenge on everyone who took what little I had from me! Even those fuckers in that city in the other world. I could tear them to pieces and see how they fucking like it! I could even rip the asshole in yellow's head off and shit down his neck while I'm at it!" Max wailed as he slammed his fist into the floor in his fury. "I was doing so fucking better before I ended up in that city… I finally got my shit together and was going to school. Everything was going great. I was supposed to graduate… until that fucker in yellow dragged me to his world. All I ever wanted was to have a decent life. It didn't have to be wrapped in a pretty pink bow, it just needed to be decent. But of course I can't have that. I can't live in the outside world now without being constantly hounded by those horrors from the void." Max said before breaking down into tears.

Remilia placed her hand on top of Max's head as years' worth of bottled up emotions flowed out of him. "And yet you never gave up. You continued to fight on. You continued to live. Most humans would have ended their life after experiencing the things you did, things even long lived beings such as myself never experience."

"Kay always told me to make the best of any situation no matter how bad it is and I kinda had it beaten in me to never give up a struggle no matter how futile it may seem while growing up." Max said as he wiped his face with his sleeve and started to calm down. "God damn it… It was so nice to hear her voice again even if it was coming from that horror. Even seeing that illusion was a nice treat."

"She had a very pretty voice I must say. I am sure she looked just as pretty." Remilia said as she offered Max her hand to help him up.

Max hesitated for a moment before taking Remilia's hand. "Pretty? You have no idea…" He said as Remilia helped him to his feet. "Her face was gorgeous and her boobs could knock you the fuck out if she hit you with them. I would know. And her ass? Oh man… Don't get me started."

"Didn't you say that she was like a sister to you?" Remilia asked.

"She was still hot, damn it." Max said.

"Who's hot?" A girl said as she and three others entered the ravaged library.

"Marisa?" Max asked.

"That's right, ze!" Marisa said cheerfully.

"Flandre!" Remilia exclaimed then ran over to Flandre and hugged her.

"Ah! Yes it's me, Remi. Calm down!" Flandre said as Remilia began to vigorously kiss her on the forehead and cheeks.

Max covered his face to hide the redness in his cheeks. "_Adorable… That's so incredibly adorable…" _He thought.

"It looks like you managed to kill that freakish thing." Patchouli said to Remilia.

"Yes we did. Now where were all of you during this time?" Remilia said while Flandre continued to try and brake out of her hug.

"Hide'n out in the basement." Marisa said. "That thing kinda ambushed us. Patchouli passed out the moment she saw it and it survived my master spark, so I grabbed up Patchouli and Alice and ran to the basement, ze." Marisa said while looking like she was proud of herself.

"I see… I also see that you finally managed to wake the puppeteer from her slumber. At least you accomplished something for once…" Remilia said.

"Yup! We were going to fight that thing once we got her to wake up and…" Marisa began to say then noticed Max and Alice were staring at each other with killing intent in their eyes. "Oh! Hey Max. This here is Alice. She lives in that forest you got lost in. I'm surprised you didn't run into her."

"How dense can you be…?" Patchouli asked.

Max suddenly formed a sword then went to slash Alice who blocked the attack with her grimoire. Max went to attack again, but was blocked by Remilia and her spear. Alice was about to continue her attack until she was suddenly obstructed by a blue barrier that Patchouli formed.

"Oh so you two have run into each other already? No need for introductions then." Marisa said.

"How dense can you be…?" Patchouli asked.

"It was him. It was this boy who sealed me in that nightmare." Alice said as she tried to hold back her fury.

"And for good reason too." Max said.

"What good reason?" Remilia asked.

"If she knows as much as she has led me to believe about my power and where it comes from then there is no way that I can let her live." Max said.

"I know enough to know that you cannot remain here. That power comes from an evil god of another dimension. He can doom us all with that kind of power." Alice said.

"If you know which god then that gives me even more reason to kill you." Max said.

"Calm down, Max." Remilia said. "Who is this god?" She asked of Alice.

"No! Don't fucking say it! You say its name and we're all fucked!" Max exclaimed.

"What does 'fucked' mean?" Flandre asked of Marisa.

"Oh. That's just a crude way of saying-" Marisa was suddenly hit over the head with a book by Patchouli before she could finish answering.

"He's not using the word in that context." Patchouli said.

"Do not take me for a fool. I wouldn't dare speak what should never be spoken." Alice said.

"You were foolish enough to attack me so I am sure you are foolish enough to say it." Max said as he tried to push Remilia out of the way.

"Knock it off. My mansion has been damaged far enough. I do not need you two wrecking it even more." Remilia said as she continued to push back.

Max smirked then spoke. "Don't you worry about that. I can lock her back up in those nightmares without breaking a sweat this time. I am much stronger than I was when I first fought her."

"Do not think you saw the limits of my power, boy. " Alice said. She than held her grimoire up in front of her and placed her free hand over it. She spoke a few phrases in a strange language, unlocking the lock that was placed on the book. "I will bring an end to this madness right here." She said as she opened the book. She started to say an incantation, but stopped when she suddenly found a knife to her throat.

"I believe milady said to cease. Please do as she says." Sakuya said.

"Ah, Sakuya. I am glad you are back." Remilia said.

"As am I, milady." Sakuya said. "I see you were able to find that man."

"I did." Remilia said. "Now if you two will please?" Remilia said to Max and Alice. They both looked at one another then sighed, putting away their respective weapons. "Where is Meiling? She asked of Sakuya.

At that very moment, Meiling entered the library with a battered Eirin over her shoulders. "I'm right here, mistress!" She exclaimed as she dragged Eirin into the room.

"Is that the pharmacist from the moon?" Alice asked.

"From the moon? Wait a damn minute here…" Max said as he rose an eyebrow. "Is there people on the moon?" He asked. Everyone else nodded. "Wow… Just wow…"

Patchouli signaled Meiling to bring Eirin to her room that had remained relatively undamaged and to lay her on the bed.

"Care to explain what happened, Sakuya?" Remilia asked.

"We found her on the edge of the lake just as she is now." Sakuya replied.

"We need to wake her in order to find out what happened to her then." Alice said.

"Thank god I didn't seal you back up in your nightmares. We might have never figured that one out without you…" Max said, causing Alice to glare at him and Patchouli, Marisa and Flandre to snicker.

"Patchy, do you have anything to help the lunarian to awaken?" Remilia asked.

"I do." Patchouli said.

"I got this, ze." Marisa said before tossing a bucket of cold water onto Eirin, forcing her awake and to cough and gag on the water.

"What? What is going on?" Eirin said in her confusion.

"Well she is awake…" Flandre said.

"Damn right, so no complain'n." Marisa said.

"Ah… So I was found by the residence of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. That's a relief…" Eirin said as she sat up in the bed.

"What happened to you, lunarian?" Remilia asked.

"Oh… It seems that the princess has gone absolutely insane." Eirin said.

"I knew it would happen!" Marisa exclaimed.

"Shut up." Patchouli said.

"She started to act weird just a couple days ago, babbling about nonsense and locking herself in her room more often. While I was taking a nap, she suddenly came into my room and said she needed a sacrifice. A lunarian sacrifice. That is when the rabbits, along with strange creatures, attacked me. I was able to fight them off, but some of the rabbits used very strange magic and injured me greatly. I managed to get away and, as you already know, I ended up collapsing near the lake from my injuries." Eirin said.

"Mad cultists… That's just fan fucking tastic… At least we know who is calling those horrors… Wait… did she just say 'rabbits'?" Max said.

"A male voice?" Eirin said before spotting Max. She then quickly tried to get up, only to nearly fall to the floor before being caught by Meiling. "Can I assume he is the man the gap youkai has called to be killed?" She asked. Remilia nodded. "Why is he here? I assumed he was what caused the princess to go insane."

"He wasn't. The gap youkai seems to be wrong in her understanding of who this man is." Remilia said.

"What the hell is a gap youkai?" Max whispered to Marisa.

"A very old woman." Marisa whispered.

"Then who is he and why is he here?" Eirin asked.

"All you need to know is that he will help us find out what is wrong with your precious princess." Remilia said.

"I am afraid I cannot trust him near the princess." Eirin said.

"And I am afraid you don't have any choice." Remilia said then turned to Patchouli. "Please make her comfortable." Patchouli nodded.

Eirin sighed as she laid back down in the bed. "As you said, I can't really stop you in my current condition, but if you can," She said. "Find my apprentice, Reisen. Assuming she too hasn't gone mad like the others, she can help you."

"Awesome! To Eientei, ze!" Marisa yelled.

"Sakuya, you and Meiling stay here and guard the mansion and Flandre in case another one of those horrors shows up." Remilia said.

"As you command, milady." Sakuya said as she bowed.

"Awww but I want to go with you!" Flandre whined.

"Absolutely not. I will not have one of those things near you or risk Max accidentally causing you to go insane again." Remilia said.

"Again? But this is my first time I've met him!" Flandre said.

"What the hell happened that night after I fainted?" Max whispered to Marisa.

"Little Flandre went off her knocker. Took me, Reimu and Remilia the rest of the night to knock her out. I guess she don't remember any of it." Marisa whispered.

"We can't waste any more time. Let us go now." Remilia said.

"I will stay here and help heal Eirin's wounds ." Alice said.

"Wrong. You come with us. Last thing I need you to do is go off and tell that gap youkai where Max is." Remilia said.

"You are making a big mistake in letting someone with a connection with an Outer God live." Alice said.

"Come on now. I can be real friendly if you would only let me." Max said before grabbing Alice's behind and squeezing it, causing her to blush then smack him across the face.

Marisa quickly jumped in between the two and placed her arms around their shoulders. "Chill out. Save that energy for when we beat up that stuck up moon princess, ze." She said.

"If you children are done, may we please get going?" Remilia said.

The group consisting of Max, Remilia, Marisa and Alice left the mansion then headed for Eientei to find the wayward princess and put an end to her madness.

"Quite the handsome young man he is. I am sure he is to the princess's liking." Eirin said. Patchouli coughed then buried her face in a book while Sakuya left to clean the mansion and while Meiling took Flandre back to her room. "I wouldn't mind experimenting on him to find out what makes him tick myself."


	11. Chapter Eleven: Blood Bamboo

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"I knew it. I fucking new it. From the moment we entered this forest, I knew we would get lost." Max said as he, Remilia, Marisa and Alice wondered the bamboo forest.

"The name 'Bamboo Forest of the Lost' wasn't enough of an indication?" Alice said, staying as far from Max as she could.

"How was I supposed to know the name was being literal?" Max said.

"You really aren't that bright now are you?" Alice asked in a mocking tone.

"Ass smack attack!" Max exclaimed as he went to slap Alice's behind, but she quickly dodged.

"Try again and I'll tie your hands with puppet strings tightly enough to turn them purple."

"Give it a rest. You two have done nothing but fight since we left the mansion." Remilia said as she scouted the area with her eyes.

"I think it makes for great entertainment, ze." Marisa said as she stretched her arms back. "What's he at now? Three for five?"

"That was his sixth attempt." Remilia said.

"Oh. So they're even now?" Marisa said.

Remilia stopped then rubbed her forehead as she became agitated. "Let us worry about finding Eientei instead of how many times Max has managed to touch Alice's ass."

"Are you sure just us four will be enough? Shouldn't we at least get Reimu? Who knows what horrors that moon princess might have summoned?" Alice asked while being careful not to let Max get too close to her.

"If she isn't at Eientei already then she might be busy elsewhere. She might be dealing with a horror that could have sprung up somewhere else." Remilia said while trying to decide on a direction to go.

"You do know the source of this incident is right here and trying to touch my butt as we speak?" Alice said.

"For the umpteenth time I ain't the only one who could be attracting those things." Max said. "From what that nurse looking woman said, it sounds like we have some cultists who are calling them. So blame them. Not me."

"Oh I blame you. I blame you for everything that has happened since you stepped foot in Gensokyo. Do not think for one second that I have forgiven you for trapping me in that nightmare. Don't think that I ever will either." Alice said as she glared menacingly at Max.

"Sounds like someone wants to go back to that nightmare." Max said as he grinned and cracked his knuckles.

"You two can settle your little feud after we have dealt with these so called cultists." Remilia said.

"Want me to cool them off?" Marisa asked of Remilia as she pulled a wooden, octagonal shaped object out from under her hat.

"No. Save that for when we find those cultists. I am sure we will need it…" Remilia said.

"What's that?" Max asked as he stared at the wooden object Marisa held.

"Oh? You wanna know what this is, ze?" Marisa asked as she juggled the wooden object.

"That's why I asked…"

"This here is my Hakkero and it has tons of magical power in it. I use it to power my Master Spark and blow stuff up."

"Oh really? So you need some trinket to power your attacks? Would suck if you lost it then." Max said after quickly losing interest in the Hakkero.

"It never leaves my side. Ever, ze." Marisa said confidently. She then eyed Max's chest and grinned. "Now that I've shown you my Hakkero you gotta show me your medallion." She said as pulled up Max's shirt.

"I don't remember making that deal." Max said as he pushed his shirt back down.

"There is nothing special about that medallion of his, Marisa. It's only his source of power…" Alice said sarcastically.

"Really? Oh now I gotta see it!" Marisa said before pulling Max's shirt back up then trying to pull off his medallion.

"Will you stop that?" Max said as he swatted Marisa's hands away. "It ain't my source of power."

"What? How is it not?" Alice asked as she became confused.

"It did contain a lot of power in it, but when I first put it on, it all transferred into me. Though it still contains a bit of that power so I can't just throw it away. So yeah…" Max said.

"Oh I see. So you really are more like those horrors than human?" Alice said with a smirk.

Max grabbed a hold of Alice's shirt collar with his hand then glared at her angrily. "Congratulations. You just pissed me off."

Alice kicked Max in the stomach to knock him back a bit then jumped backwards. She then opened her grimoire. "It takes too much energy to even tolerate your presence. I'm putting an end to this right now."

"Fine. Not like we needed yuh. The only thing you are good for is your body anyways." Max said as he got into his fighting stance.

"When did they become such good friends?" Marisa asked of Remilia, who simply ignored her.

Max and Alice stood their ground as they waited for the other to make a move. They both were about to attack when the suddenly heard something. They both, along with Remilia and Marisa, looked up into the sky as they heard a whistling sound. They suddenly spotted a large fireball heading towards them.

"Hit the deck, ze!" Marisa yelled before diving to the ground, followed by Max and Alice. Remilia remained standing, paying no attention to the incoming fireball.

The fireball landed with a bang in between where Max and Alice were standing, setting the area on fire. Max, Marisa and Alice quickly got up while staying on guard.

"What the hell?" Max said as he surveyed the scorched ground.

"What the hell indeed." A girl said as she appeared in sight.

"Mokou?" Max said.

"Yo." Mokou said while giving a rather flamboyant two finger salute. "I take it y'all going to that bitch's place?" Mokou asked.

"That is correct." Remilia said. "I was hoping we would run into you."

"Lost, eh? Ain't surprised. Well I'll take you there. Could use the help in stringing Kaguya up naked."

"Kaguya? Ain't that the one you told me was the biggest whore in Gensokyo or something?" Max asked.

"That's not the only thing I said, but yeah, that's her." Mokou said. "So I here you were the one who drove the Human Village insane, me included, though I still targeted the right person even while I was out of my mind. I was surprised to hear that the gap youkai wanted you dead. Something about destroying Gensokyo or something."

"Yeah. No idea what her beef is…" Max said.

"Uh huh… Well I really can't see you trying to destroy Gensokyo, so don't worry about me trying to kill yuh. I just ask that you don't drive the Human Village insane again. You caused a lot of problems for Keine, whom you might want to stay away from until she's in better moods…" Mokou said.

"Keine? Oh… her…" Max said as he suddenly felt a headache.

"Sorry to ruin your reunion, but we have a mad princess to find." Remilia said.

"Yeah. Follow me. I got a bone to pick with her. Not just for me, but for Keine and the village as well." Mokou said.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"It seems her servants have been kidnapping some of the villagers lately. No clue why, but I'm gonna find out." Mokou said.

Max and Remilia looked at one another with worried expressions on their faces. "Oh, fucking hell…" Max said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What?" Mokou said.

"The crazy bitch is going to try and sacrifice them." Max said.

"What?" Marisa, Alice and Mokou exclaimed at the same time.

"Yeah… Probably to summon horrors into our world too…" Max said.

"Horrors? What you talking about?" Mokou asked.

"Yeah let's not waste time explaining. Just be prepared to see things that could break your mind. You too Marisa. There are more hideous looking things than that one you saw in the library. And Alice, unless you plan on sucking my dick later, you can just go ahead and die for all I care." Max said. Alice clenched her book angrily while resisting the temptation to hit him with it as Mokou and Marisa covered their mouths as they tried not to laugh.

"Oh, Max. This is why we need to have a night of drinking again." Mokou said as she patted Max's back. "I don't think I could get tired of the crazy things you say."

"Mokou, if you may, please lead the way." Remilia said.

"Alright. Stay close and don't trail behind." Mokou said as she began walking with the rest of the group right behind her.

The group remained silent as Mokou lead them deeper into the bamboo forest, listening carefully for any unusual sounds. A chilling wind ran through the bamboo with an eerie sound while the sky remained pitch black and oppressing, giving the forest a haunted feel to it.

"Could these cultists have anything to do with the black sky by any chance?" Remilia asked of Max.

"Probably." Max said.

"Cultists? Mind filling me in?" Mokou asked.

"It would seem that Kaguya has gone insane, along with her servants. We believe they may have something to do with the recent horrors making their way into our world. " Remilia said.

"I knew she was loony, but even she wouldn't cause direct harm to the Human Village." Mokou said.

"What could have caused her to go all wacky?" Marisa asked.

"Who knows, but we're going to find out." Max said.

Marisa shrugged her shoulders. She then turned to notice that Alice had stopped and was looking at something. "Hey Alice! What yuh look'n at, ze?" She said as she ran up next to Alice. Alice turned around then fell to her knees, covering her mouth as she began to cough. "Yikes! You alright?" Marisa asked.

"Didn't I say not to trail behind?" Mokou asked.

"I've seen some messed up stuff in my life… but this is all kinds of fucked up…" Max said as he noticed what Alice was looking at.

"What is it?" Remilia asked. "Oh… my… Looks like the ones who didn't go insane were 'disposed' of."

"What? Where?" Mokou asked. Max pointed at what at first looked like a tree among all of the bamboo. She paled and gasped in horror as she saw what Max was pointing at. Marisa covered her mouth as she became sick from the sight.

What they saw was a large number of mutilated, naked bodies of what looked like small girls. Their bodies were stacked and pinned together to form a tree looking structure. Most of the bodies were horribly disfigured in some kind of way. Some had their chests pulled out to reveal their bloody insides while others looked as if their skin was peeled off.

"I'm seriously going to kill whoever this Kaguya is." Max said. "They even put rabbit ears on them. What the fuck kind of insane weirdos would do that?"

"Those are real rabbit ears. These are, excuse me, were the rabbit servants of that moon princess." Remilia said.

"Bunny people? Oh now I'm really going to kill the bitch." Max said as he clenched his fists in anger.

"Killing her is easy. It's getting her to stay dead that's the hard part…" Mokou said.

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"Kaguya is immortal. She won't stay dead long after you manage to kill her." Mokou said.

"She's immortal?" Max asked.

"That's what I said and so am I so you don't have to worry about me dyeing either." Mokou said.

"Well here's something you should know… These things from beyond couldn't give a flying fuck if you're immortal or not. The bigger and stronger ones are capable of tearing your soul out and devouring it, leaving you in a state of perpetual misery for as long as the thing exists. Even if the thing were to be miraculously destroyed, your soul would have been shattered long before then. So, for your sake, don't die at all." Max said.

"Oh… Well… bummer…" Mokou said.

"Those things are that scary, huh?" Marisa asked.

"If you want to bail out, now's your chance. I wouldn't blame you if you do." Max said.

"Then what? Let you fight those things by yourself?" Mokou asked.

"I planned to from the very beginning." Max said.

"Hell no! I want to spark the bastards, ze!" Marisa exclaimed while gripping her Hakkero.

"No way am I letting my drinking partner fight whatever those things are alone." Mokou said.

"You're all retarded, you know that?" Max said, wiping Marisa's and Mokou's confident expressions from their faces. "You have barely begun to see the true horrors of existence and yet you already think you can help me fight the unstoppable."

"The unstoppable you say? Yet you still try to fight them?" Remilia asked.

"I told you before that I don't give up easily." Max said.

"And neither do we, Max. So trust us to assist you against any of these things that manage to make their way here, just as we trust you to do the same." Remilia said. "You can have more hope even in your situation."

"Hope? Heh… I like to think that still exists…" Max said while wearing a gloomy expression.

"Don't look so depressed, ze." Marisa said as she wrapped her arm around Max's shoulder. "No one can look depressed while I'm around!"

"I'll… give them some dignity and burn their corpses." Mokou said. She then walked up to the tree of corpses with a fireball ready in her hands. She then stopped in horror as she noticed that one of the rabbit girls was still alive. The rabbit girl had her jaw ripped off and her chest ripped open, exposing her still beating heart. "F-Forgive me…" Mokou said.

"She doesn't want your empathy, just a merciful end. Now do it." Remilia said after noticing the rabbit girl as well.

Mokou nodded then threw her fireball, setting fire to the entire tree of corpses and killing the rabbit girl. The group watched as the fire burned for a moment before continuing their way to Eientei. They walked for about a half an hour before they suddenly heard movements through the bamboo. The group stopped without saying a word. Marisa pulled out some of Alice's dolls out from under her hat and returned them while Max and Mokou cracked their knuckles. Remilia readied her claws as Alice prepared her dolls. The group stood their ground as they waited for the incoming attack. As expected, the mad rabbits of Eientei appeared from the darkness and attacked the group.

The rabbit girls fired a barrage of danmaku at the group, causing them to scatter. Remilia rushed into a group of rabbits and slashed them with her extended nails. Mokou pelted the rabbits with her fireballs while Alice had her puppets attack with their own danmaku. Max used his telekinetic power to smash the rabbits into one another.

"Out of the way!" Marisa yelled as she held her Hakkero in both of her hands. Mokou and Alice quickly took cover.

"Wait. What?" Max said as he slammed the heads of two of the girls together, knocking them out cold.

"Watch it!" Remilia said as she pulled Max out of Marisa's field of vision.

"Master Spark!" Marisa yelled, firing off a huge, colorful beam out from her hands and into the crowd of rabbits.

"Holy hell!" Max exclaimed as he covered his eyes from the blinding light the beam gave off.

After a few moments, the entire land in front of Marisa was left scorched, along with a large number of the rabbits. The rabbits that remained standing began to panic.

One of the rabbits clicked her teeth in disapproval. "Shoot… We must protect the princess and her master plan at all costs." She then signaled the other rabbits. "Call them. They will hold them off long enough for the ritual to be completed."

"Call them?" Max said with a worried expression.

The rabbits placed two of their fingers in their mouths then blew, making a whistling sound. The rabbits timed their whistling to make a dark and sinister tune that caused the resolve of Max and the others to waver.

"Oh shit…" Max said. "Prepare yourselves!"

Suddenly, all around Max and the others, a large number of lesser horrors materialized into existence. Mokou, Marisa and Alice gaped in horror at the beings.

"What… the hell…spiders? No… they're…" Mokou said as she began to shiver in terror.

"Don't sit there trying to figure out what they are! Destroy them!" Max commanded. The entire swarm of lesser horrors charged for Max as his power quickly grabbed their attention. "Damn it all!" He yelled as he quickly formed a sword and began slashing at the incoming horrors.

"Move it move it move it!" Marisa cried out as she prepared to fire another Master Spark.

"No! We need to distribute these things amongst us. Share the kills." Max said.

"Huh? But why?" Marisa asked.

"You'll understand once you kill one." Remilia said before impaling one of the horrors with her spear.

"Shit… I get it…" Mokou said after incinerating a few of the horrors. "I never thought I would ever feel the painful sensation of being on fire ever again…"

"Damn…" Marisa said as she put her Hakkero away. "Alright then. Let's boogie!"

It didn't take the group long to dispose of the horrors, but not after being inflicted with the same pain they themselves dealt.

"Damn it…" Mokou said as she panted. "What the hell were those things?"

"Whatever they are, they don't belong here." Alice said.

"At least they didn't call one of the bigger ones of those kind." Remilia said.

"Look at the ground! Look at the fucking ground!" Max yelled franticly. Everyone quickly did as he commanded, observing the ground as if they were looking for something.

"What are we looking for?" Marisa asked.

"It seems that I spoke too soon…" Remilia said.

"Yup…" Max said.

"Well I don't have anything to worry about." Remilia said in a slightly cocky tone. She then looked up to see one of the larger and more terrifying horrors floating above them. She quickly looked back down as she began to cough up small amounts of blood. "What? But the last time I couldn't make out their form."

"Ha ha, ze." Marisa said.

"Shut it!" Remilia yelled.

"You were just lucky the last time." Max said.

"Why isn't it attacking?" Alice asked as she resisted the urge to look up.

"It's waiting for us to look at it. That's how they get you. They catch you off guard then break your mind with its impossible form." Max said.

"Then how the hell do we fight it?" Mokou asked as she too fought the temptation to look up.

"Blind of course." Marisa said. "This should be fun…"

"Not quite. If we plan on fighting these things then we are just going to have to get used to seeing them." Remilia said. She then forced herself to look up at the vile creature that lingered above them. "I… envy these things… To be able to cause such fear with just its form…" She said as she fought against her own body as it tried to turn away from the horror.

"You're stupid. I am convinced now that you are stupid." Max said.

"Like hell am I going to let myself be beat by the brat." Marisa said. She then looked up at the creature, catching only a small glimpse of it before quickly looking back down as she began to freak out. "What? What? What is that?" She said in a panic.

"See? You girls just can't handle fighting these things like I can. Just give up." Max said.

"He's right. Only a horror can fight a horror…" Alice said.

"Marisa, remind me to slap Alice's ass ten times by the end of the day." Max said.

"Roger, ze." Marisa said as she saluted while still looking at the ground and shivering.

"It lost its patience! It's coming!" Remilia yelled as she formed a spear.

In reaction, Max, Mokou, Marisa and Alice looked up at the thing as it quickly descended upon them. Mokou, Marisa and Alice started screaming in fear uncontrollably from the sight of the impossible being.

"Shit." Max said. "Remilia, take care of-" Max stopped mid sentence as he saw Remilia take off into the air after the horror. "Stupid! Fucking stupid I tell you!"

Remilia and the horror collided with one another and began to furiously slash at one another with their respective weapons, Remilia's spear against the horror's spider like appendages and tentacles. The horror let out its horrible shriek every time one of its appendages was cut off by her spear, causing blood to trickle from her ears and her vision to waver.

"You are going to need to try a little harder if you wish to see a great vampire tremble." Remilia said before spearing the horror in one of its black, cold eyes, causing it to shriek even louder. "You wish to feed off of my fear? I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have no fear to give." She said before slicing some of its fangs off.

Max watched in awe as Remilia relentlessly sliced at the horror, cutting off its limbs faster than it could regrow them. "_Vampires… are… awesome…" _He thought.

Remilia extended her nails then ruthlessly slashed the horror, its painful wail echoing through her mind. "The pain I cause you, I feel it too." She said as she jammed her spear into the thing. "It is not enough!" She violently twisted and turned her spear, wrecking the horrors insides. "I would tell you to go to hell, but I wish not for the damned to have to look upon your hideousness." She said before ripping out her spear from the horror. "If I wish to truly become a powerful vampire, the most feared creature throughout the world, I know now that I have much to overcome." She said. She then grabbed a hold of one of the horrors fangs, pulling the horror close to her face while smiling sadistically. "Let me assure you, I will not lose to the likes of you." She then pulled out a spell card. "Scarlet Sign: Red the Nightless Castle!" She called out, becoming engulfed in a cross shaped, red aura and burning away the horror. The burning red aura soon dissipated as the horrors death wail slowly vanished into the distance. Remilia let out a sigh of relief then slowly descended to the ground.

"Well I'm impressed." Max said as he walked up to Remilia.

"Are you now?" Remilia said before coughing a few times.

"Yeah. You vampires are pretty cool in my book." Max said as he patted Remilia's head.

"Cool is an understatement…" Remilia said as her cheeks reddened a little.

"Damn it damn it damn it!" Mokou exclaimed. "I can't believe I stood there like a scared little girl! Next time! Next time I'll burn every one of the bastards away!"

"Damn thing, it caught me off guard." Alice said as she stood up after having fallen to her knees in fear.

"The thing was beyond freaky. What excuse do you want me to say, ze?" Marisa said while still shaking a bit.

"Let us continue on to Eientei. It doesn't seem like there are any more of those rabbits or those horrors." Alice said.

"It looks as if you are mistaken." Remilia said.

The group looked to see a lone rabbit girl standing amongst the bamboo. The girl looked a little different from the others. She had black hair that reached her shoulders, dark, red eyes and rabbit ears that drooped to the sides. She wore a pink night gown and a necklace with a small carrot on it.

"Well aren't you the lucky ones?" The girl said. "It would seem that the princess has invited you all to join her in the listening of some grand music. You will except her invitation won't you? The girl smiled somewhat creepily.

"Tewi... Need I say more, ze?" Marisa said.

"Don't worry. I have no traps waiting for you. The princess wouldn't let me set them up…" Tewi said while looking a bit disappointed.

"I say we humor the crazed bitch." Mokou said.

"Agreed." Remilia said.

"Right this way then." Tewi said.

Tewi lead the way to Eientei with Max and the others following behind while keeping their guard up.

"_Music, huh?" _Max began to think. "_Why don't I like the sound of that…?"_


	12. Chapter Twelve: Tune of Doom

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Tewi lead the group consisting of Max, Remilia, Marisa, Mokou, and Alice to Eientei. It was an old fashioned, Japanese styled mansion and it had many rabbit girls scurrying around it as they prepared for something.

"So Tewi… What yuh guys up to, ze?" Marisa asked.

"Preparing for the musical performance of course." Tewi said as she led the group to the front doors of the mansion.

"What else does Kaguya have planned?" Mokou asked.

"Don't know. You will need to ask her." Tewi said in a rather bored tone.

"Well where is this Kaguya then?" Max asked.

"So many questions…" Tewi mumbled.

Tewi reached her hand out to open the door, but was surprised when it was quickly slid open from the other side. A girl with pointy rabbit ears stood in the door way. She had red eyes and long, light purple hair and wore a short sleeved white shirt with a red tie and a blue skirt. She looked surprised when seeing the large group.

"_My god in heaven… They have a playboy bunny in this place…" _Max thought as he tried to keep himself from smiling.

"Oh! Reisen!" Tewi said. "I've brought the guests. Take them to the princess won't you?"

"Of course. Please… follow me." Reisen said as she invited the group into the mansion then lead them down the hallway. They were half way down the hall when she suddenly cried out. "Kya!" She quickly turned around to face the group, her face a little flushed and she covered her tail. The girls all pointed at Max.

"Oh come on. Y'all were wondering if it was real or not also. I was just the only one who had the balls to find out." Max said.

"We already knew her tail was real and you could have just asked…" Alice said while giving Max a disapproving look.

"You can't ask for everything. Sometimes you have to find shit out yourself." Max said.

"Of course it's real! So please, don't touch it so suddenly." Reisen said before turning around and continuing down the hall, her face still a little red. The group came to another set of sliding doors. Reisen went to knock on the door, but it slid open before she could, startling her a bit. "Oh! Miss Kaguya… I-"

"Ah! Reisen! You brought the guests I see. And right on time. The show is about to start!" Kaguya said. She wore a pink shirt and a long, dark red skirt. She ran up to Max and placed her hands on the sides of his face and brought it close to hers. "So you are Max? I am so glad... I was afraid that they had exaggerated your handsomeness." She pulled Max's face close enough to hers that he could feel her breath on his lips which caused his cheeks to redden a little. "I had put off in opening the window just for you." She said. She was then shoved back by Mokou.

"We aren't here to listen to your shitty music, Kaguya." Mokou said as she pulled out a spell card. "Immortal: Fire Bird 'Flying Phoenix'!" She called out.

Kaguya quickly jumped back in order to dodge the barrage of blazing danmaku that was fired at her. It didn't take long for the entire room to be set on fire.

"Oh! Must you do that while inside? Now look at this place… My servants are not going to be happy with you!" Kaguya said as she continued to dodge the danmaku.

"And it's only going to get messier, ze!" Marisa exclaimed as she held her broom like a gun. "Light Sign: Luminous Strike!" A large amount of magic bullets fired out from the end of the broom, completely missing Kaguya and blowing a hole through the ceiling.

Kaguya's face turned red as she grew angry. "Hey! Are you trying to destroy my home?" She yelled angrily.

"Nah. I was just trying to distract you." Marisa said.

"Eh?" Kaguya said. She then quickly turned around to see Alice behind her holding a spell card.

"Curse Sign: Shanghai Doll!" Alice called out.

Kaguya wasn't able to react quickly enough before Alice had one of her dolls fire a large laser at her, sending her through the hole in the ceiling and to the outside. She pulled herself out of the beam then gritted her teeth.

"Is this the kind of treatment I get for going out of my way to invite you all?" Kaguya said.

"Keep your mouth shut unless you plan on calling out your attack." Mokou said as she took to the air along with Marisa and Alice.

"If you wanted to fight, you should have just asked." Kaguya then pulled out a spell card while grinning. "It will be a little bit longer before the window is open for us to listen to that glorious music of my dreams. So allow me… to entertain you until then." She said as she formed a crazy smile.

"Why don't you stay here and make sure this moon rabbit doesn't try anything funny, Max?" Remilia said as she prepared to join the fight that was taken outside.

"Sure. Could use a break from all the action." Max said.

"That won't be necessary." Reisen said.

"Oh?" Remilia said.

"I haven't gone mad like the rest. I just pretended I was with them so I could try and find out what is wrong with Lady Kaguya." Reisen said.

"What have you found out?" Remilia asked.

"Just that she is trying to open up a 'window'. Unfortunately I wasn't able to figure out what she means by that. Just that she needed to power some kind of ritual with blood from other creatures. She was going to use my master, but she got away." Reisen said.

"The nurse woman? Yeah, she was the one who told us about your mad princess." Max said.

"I assumed you were behind the madness of the princess and the earth rabbits because of what we heard from the tengu, but you are here to help?" Reisen asked.

"Yup. You can thank me later." Max said. He then grabbed a hold of Reisen's neck tie and pulled her close to him. "Later, you could let me play with that fluffy tail of yours and maybe those ears." He said with a mischievous smile.

"Eh?" Reisen said as her face reddened.

Max was suddenly kicked between the legs from behind. His eyes watered then he fell to the ground, holding onto his groin and moaning in pain. "Damn it Remilia… Was that really necessary…?"

"That wasn't me…" Remilia said as she glared at Tewi.

"Oh… Sorry!" Tewi said cheerfully. "Reisen… What was that about you pretending you were with us?"

"Tewi! That was completely uncalled for!" Reisen said angrily.

"I really didn't want to do this to you Reisen… but if you are against the princess… then you are against the earth rabbits." Tewi said as her expression turned dark.

"Get a grip Tewi! You are not thinking straight and neither is the princess! You've killed some of the others because of it!" Reisen yelled.

"Yeah? That was because they made the same mistake you just made." Tewi said.

"You know…?" Max said as he slowly got up to his feet. "Bunnies are one of my favorite animals so I don't really want to hurt any of you, but…" He said as he turned to face Tewi with a menacing glare. "No one sneak attacks me like that… and lives."

Tewi smiled creepily. "Don't worry about that, Max. Once we get that window open, all your pains will slowly fade away… But we need a little bit of help so… could you help us out?" She said as her crazy smile grew bigger.

"I'll help to beat you to death." Max said then threw a red glob at Tewi, hitting her point blank in the chest and sending her through the wall.

"Tewi!" Reisen cried out. "Please don't hurt her. She doesn't know what she is doing."

"Tell that to my balls." Max said.

"Let us handle this, Max. We don't need you going overboard with your powers and driving everyone here insane." Remilia said.

"Fine…" Max said.

"You perverted little boy." Tewi said.

Max, Remilia and Reisen gave their attention to Tewi who stood in the hole in the wall, still wearing her crazed smile. Her clothe were gone, exposing her completely.

"Don't look!" Reisen exclaimed as she covered Max's eyes with her hands, only to have them quickly pulled away by him.

"I'm not going to get off by seeing a child's naked body for fuck sake..." Max said.

"She is no child. Like me, she is long lived. Possibly longer lived than me from what I hear…" Remilia said.

"Don't give a shit." Max said.

"Come with me, Max. I need your help to open the window and I will have that help." Tewi said.

"Coming!" Max said. He clenched his fist then sprinted for Tewi. Tewi showed no fear, and calmly stood her ground. She then spoke in an alien like language. Max went to punch her, but she disappeared into thin air a split second before his punch landed. "The fuck?"

"Behind us!" Remilia yelled. She and Reisen quickly turned around to see Tewi standing right behind them.

"Enough of this, Tewi!" Reisen said. She then held her hand like a gun then pointed it at Tewi. "Desolation: Discarder!" A large, bullet shaped danmaku fired from her finger. Tewi quickly spoke a few alien words just before the bullet hit her. Reisen was hit by the bullet that she herself fired before she could realize that Tewi had switched their places. She cried out in pain as she was sent backwards and through the wall behind her.

Remilia quickly extended her nails and prepared to slash Tewi the moment she noticed her next to her instead of Reisen. "Nice trick, rabbit!" She yelled.

Tewi chanted more alien words just before having her chest slashed by Remilia. She held her head low as she backed away from Remilia, blood dripping from the four slash marks on her chest. Remilia was about to say something, but felt a sharp pain in her chest. She looked down to notice that blood was seeping through her dress. She looked back up when she heard Tewi starting to chuckle.

"It looks as if the rabbit has learned some strange magic." Remilia said. "Very strange indeed. The slash marks are not healing."

Tewi burst out into a maniacal laugh. "And it won't until I myself heal!" She exclaimed.

"What?" Remilia said with a worried expression.

"It is just what you are thinking…" Tewi said as her smile became dark and twisted. "So if I were to impale my heart… I wonder what would happen. The others could quickly heal me before I died, but could the same be said about a vampire?" Remilia gritted her teeth as she gave Tewi a hateful stare.

"Sucks to be you." Max said to Remilia.

"You could at least pretend to be concerned about my wellbeing, Max…" Remilia said.

"Not my style." Max said. He then quickly charged for Tewi, catching her off guard and upper cutting her, knocking her to the ground. Remilia quickly felt her jaw break.

"M-Max!" Remilia exclaimed.

"Suck it up. I remember hurting you more. This should be nothing." Max said.

Remilia sighed. "Just break the damn spell quickly, please."

"Will do." Max said. Suddenly, a bunch of the earth rabbits entered the room and started to fire danmaku at Max and Remilia. "Oh look! More bunnies to beat the shit out of!"

"I got these ones so bring Tewi back to her senses." Reisen said as she crawled back into the room through the hole in the wall.

"We will leave them to you then." Remilia said.

Max ran to Tewi as she got back up on her feet. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her into the air. He started squeezing, but then noticed Marisa in his grip. "Ah shit." He said as he quickly let go.

Marisa rubbed her pained neck. "Weren't we on the same team, ze?"

"She's outside now, let's go." Remilia said.

Max, Remilia and Marisa flew through the ceiling to the outside where Mokou and Alice were still fighting Kaguya. You wouldn't be able to tell that it was getting close to night time with all of the danmaku lighting up the area.

"Kaguya!" Mokou yelled as she dove towards Kaguya.

"Mokou!" Kaguya said as she charged towards Mokou.

Mokou and Kaguya smashed into one another then immediately began to pummel each other. Their magical energies clashed with the other as they thrashed each other. They both were then knocked back as their energies exploded between them.

"Fighting you never gets old, Mokou." Kaguya said sweetly.

"I grew tired of you a long time ago. Now die and stay dead!" Mokou said as she pulled out a spell card. "Possessed by Phoenix!" She called out, becoming engulfed in a fiery aura that took the shape of a large, magnificent bird. She then charged for Kaguya with great speed, who watched with glee as the bird of fire opened its mouth as if to consume her. Mokou let out a mighty roar as she drew closer to Kaguya, but suddenly found herself flying towards Alice. Alice cried out in pain as Mokou tore through her and set her ablaze. "Shit! What the hell?" She said as her spell card ended. She dove for Alice as she fell towards the ground. She quickly caught her then sat her down on the ground. "Shit! Sorry about that. I don't know what happened…" Mokou hastily apologized.

"O-Ouch…" Alice said as smoke emitted from her.

"Aw… I like being hit by that attack of hers…" Kaguya said while looking disappointed. She then turned to Tewi who was by her side. "Are the runes in place?" Tewi looked down below to see one of the other earth rabbits waving to her. She then looked back at Kaguya and nodded. "Oh good! Now we just need to have that young man provide us with some assistance."

"That will be your part. I will make sure the others don't interfere." Tewi said.

"Good. Very good." Kaguya said. They both descended to the ground while the others surrounded them. "Thank you for being patient! It is time to open the window!" She said cheerfully.

"You won't be opening anything, Kaguya!" Mokou yelled as she pulled out a spell card.

"Hold it!" Tewi commanded. "The only one who will be fighting the princess is the boy. If anyone interferes then the only thing that will remain of the vampire will be her dress and some dust." She said as she held a dagger to her heart.

"What does she mean?" Alice asked.

"She placed some kind of spell on me so that whenever she is injured, I will be to…" Remilia said as she bit her lip and clenched her fists in anger.

"Ah ha! Sucks to be you, ze!" Marisa exclaimed.

"Shut it!" Remilia said.

"So you want a piece of me, eh?" Max asked of Kaguya, who smiled and nodded. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to make you regret annoying the piss out of me. I may not be able to kill you, but I have other ways to dispose of you. Just ask the girl who still plays with dolls."

"Don't be afraid to hold back. Give me everything you got. Show me all of your eldritch powers." Kaguya said.

"Gladly." Max said. He then quickly rushed towards Kaguya with great speed, leaving afterimages in his wake.

Kaguya quickly pulled out a spell card and tried to call out her attack, but Max grabbed her wrist, breaking it with ease. Max grabbed the back of her head then slammed her face against his knee before throwing her into the mansion. He held his hands together then pulled them apart, forming a large red, formless glob. He then threw the glob into the hole where Kaguya went through, causing an explosion inside the building.

Kaguya stumbled out of the burning building, her face bloodied and clothes torn and burnt in places. "Wow… Wasn't prepared for that one… Even when against a woman… you don't show much mercy…"

"Not my style." Max said. "Besides, I don't know what you mean by 'music' and 'window', but if it has something to do with alien magic then it can only be something fucked up. So I ain't about to let you off the hook easily."

"Maybe I should help some, princess. You seem tired from wasting your time with those losers." Tewi said.

"That would be nice. Thank you." Kaguya said. "But I don't want Max here having to worry about hurting his vampire friend."

"Oh don't worry about that." Max said. He then quickly threw a red glob at Tewi. She was caught off guard and took the hit to the chest. Remilia dropped to her knees as she felt intense pain in her already injured chest.

"You alright, Remilia?" Max asked.

"Pfft. Did you get weaker since the last time we fought?" Remilia said as she tried to hide her pain with a cocky smirk.

"Once again, if it wasn't for you people being here I could have ended this already." Max scowled.

"Oh my. Do not let us hold you back. We are not as weak minded as you think. Bring an end to this and break that damn spell!" Remilia commanded.

"_She's only concerned with herself now…" _Mokou, Marisa and Alice thought.

Max grinned. "Yes ma'am." His eyes glowed red as his power began to surge all around him. Blood leaked form one of his eyes and his skin began to crack.

"Yes… Yes… Yes…!" Kaguya said. "This is it! This is what I wanted to see!" Before she knew it, Max had appeared in front of her and swiped at her with his hand, cutting her body in two at the waist. He punched her in the chest before her top part could even fall off, sending her tumbling across the ground.

"_He's much stronger than before… If he gets any stronger, even the gap youkai will have a hard time getting rid of him…" _Alice thought as a headache began to form.

Tewi jumped in front of Max then tried to chant an alien spell, but was interrupted when he swiped his hand through the air, sending out a shockwave that knocked her backwards. Max grabbed her by the legs while she was still in the air then slammed her into the ground, causing her and Remilia to cough up blood.

"Tewi! Can we activate the damn ritual now…?" Kaguya said as she crawled back to her severed lower half.

"A-Almost…" Tewi struggled to say as she got back up on her feet.

"Almost, but no cigar." Max said before kicking Tewi like a football and sending her crashing into the mansion. Blood spheres then formed around him then fired at Kaguya right after she reattached her lower half, engulfing her in a large explosion.

Max exhaled as he lowered his power output. "I think that's enough. No need to go overboard."

"Good job, Max. Seems like you broke the spell." Remilia said as she walked up to him.

"Yeah, but not until giving you a beating without even touching you." Max said.

"Nothing that I couldn't handle." Remilia said.

"Where's the others?" Max asked. Remilia pointed to Mokou, Marisa and Alice who all were on their knees and holding their heads. "You guys gonna make it?"

"Just… a slight headache… that's all…" Mokou said.

The group walked over to Kaguya who laid on her back, facing the black covered sky.

"Alright, Kaguya. It's over. Time to come back to what little senses you have." Mokou said.

"No… You all must hear that fantastic music with me… I can still hear it in my mind…but I want you all to listen to it with me…." Kaguya said as she continued to stare into the dark sky. Her eyes then quickly widened. "Finally! The veil has been weakened enough. Now we can open a window and listen to the music of the ancient ones! Lay here with me and listen… listen very carefully…" She said as she slowly closed her eyes.

"Veil weakened? But how?" Max said. Remilia and Alice both glared angrily at him. "Oh… Damn… Well I didn't think going a little wild with my power for a short while would of hurt anything... Well except for these girls..."

Tewi suddenly appeared out of the damaged mansion. She quickly chanted in an alien language, causing some runes to appear all around the building.

"Silence her!" Alice yelled.

Remilia quickly formed a red spear then threw it at Tewi. It nearly hit her, but Reisen appeared and tackled her to the ground, saving her from being impaled. She continued to chant as Reisen held onto her.

"You stupid hot bunny!" Max yelled.

The group looked around nervously as reality seemed to bend and twist all around them. Right above the mansion a hole started to appear and from the hole, a dark and horrible tune could be heard being played.

"What… is that… sound…?" Mokou said as he face paled with fright.

Max's expression turned to dread as he came to a terrible realization. "You crazy fuckers… You punched a hole in the veil to the center of the universe!" He exclaimed.

"How do we close it?" Remilia asked.

"I can try, but I need to get close to it." Max said

"Well hop to it." Alice said.

"It's not that simple… If I get close to that hole, the things on the other end might spot me and try to get through before I could close it." Max said.

"We can take the risk now hurry up. We will be like them in a minute if we listen to any more of that unholy music." Alice said.

Kaguya, Tewi and all of the earth rabbits had gone into an insane fit. Some were screaming or laughing uncontrollably while others tried to kill one another or themselves. Reisen had curled up into a ball on the ground as she had already become close to snapping.

"Go ahead, Max. We are right behind you." Remilia said.

"That fills me with so much resolve…" Max said sarcastically.

Suddenly, a giant, black tentacle ripped through the hole from the other side, tearing the veil and making the hole even larger. It thrashed wildly before splitting into two tentacles that began to push at the sides of the hole, further increasing its size.

"Fuck! Fuck!" Max exclaimed as he started to panic. "Drive it back! If it gets through then we're all fucked!"

"Fucked by tentacles… Never thought I'd see it outside of that cartoon I borrowed from that wind miko." Marisa said.

"That is not what he meant!" Alice shouted. "War Command: Dolls of War!" A bunch of her dolls raced towards the tentacles with lances at hand. They tried to pierce the tentacles, but their weapons, as well as the dolls, were swallowed up by the black slime that covered the thing. "Damn it." Alice said.

"You suck." Max said before rushing towards the tentacles. He formed a sword then sliced one of the tentacles, but it quickly grew back. The part that was cut off fell to the ground and began to mutate into a mass of smaller tentacles that instantly went for Mokou.

"Burn!" Mokou yelled as she lobbed a large fireball and the mass of tentacles, setting it aflame and incinerating it.

"Get back in your hole!" Marisa yelled. "Master Spark!" She fired a large, colorful laser into the hole, knocking the creature back and closing the hole a little.

"Spear the Gungnir!" Remilia shouted as she threw a grand, red spear, hitting one of the tentacles and making it lose its grip, sending it back to where it came.

"Damn right!" Max exclaimed. Suddenly, the creature thrust itself forward, sending two more tentacles through the hole and smashing into him. "Guh!" He cried out as he was sent flying backwards into Alice, knocking them both out of the air and into the ground. Alice rubbed her head as she found herself on top of Max, her behind facing his face. Before she could move away, he grabbed her head with his thighs. He then vigorously started to slap her behind. "One! Two! Three!" He counted with every slap, with Alice wincing in pain every time his hand connected with her behind. "Four! Five!" Alice managed to kick him in the face then quickly got up while holding onto her pained behind.

"Damn you!" Alice shouted angrily as she rubbed her butt.

"Five more to go!" Max said.

"Are you kidding me? This isn't the time for you two to be fighting!" Remilia said as she dodged the wild tentacles while she sliced at them with her spear.

"Sorry, couldn't resist." Max said as he held out his hand to the side. Red sparks ran down it as he formed a chaotic glob, throwing it once it was ready. It flew into the hole, hitting the unspeakable horror on the other side and knocking back one of its tentacles, leaving two still trashing about wildly.

"Damn things persistent." Marisa said, her face now pale.

"Hang in there. We can't stop until that thing is out of our world." Max said.

"My turn." Mokou said as she pulled out a spell card. "Everlasting: Phoenix's Tail!" A fiery, bird like aura surrounded her then she launched countless fireballs into the hole, pummeling the horror.

"That 'a girl!" Max yelled as he saw the tentacles being pushed back. The fireballs suddenly stopped, allowing the horror to thrust its two tentacles into the world further. "What the hell? Why did you stop?" Max asked of Mokou before seeing the state of shock she was now in.

The vile horror began to fill her mind with nightmarish images, assaulting her weakened mind. Mokou went to scream, but instead blacked out then fell to the ground.

"Mokou! Shit. The damn thing is pushing its mind into our world now." Max said as sweat ran down his forehead. "_And with that maddening music, these girls won't last much longer…" _Max thought.

"_Kill him… Kill him…" _A voice that sounded like her own echoed in Alice's mind. "_It won't end until he is gone… Kill him… Kill him or he will kill you… along with all of your friends…" _The voice continued to torment her as her mind weakened further.

Alice, now with a face full of hatred, pulled out one of her dolls then tossed it at Max, engulfing him in large explosion.

"Wo! What the hell, Alice, ze?" He's on our side, remember?" Marisa said, having nearly gotten caught in the explosion herself.

"He's the key! If he dies then that hole will close!" Alice screamed. She then jumped into the air and pulled out a spell card. A red glob suddenly came flying out of the smoke. She grunted in pain and was knocked out of the air when it hit her in the stomach.

"Damn girl." Max said as he coughed from all the smoke. "Marisa, knock her senses back into her."

"I'm on it, ze." Marisa said before going off to try and calm Alice down.

Remilia's own voice echoed in her head. "_Kill him… He will only make your nightmares come true in the end… He will take your sister away from you… and leave you with nothing…"_

"Looks like we have a difference in opinion." Remilia said to herself before forming a dense ball of magical energy then throwing it into the hole, knocking one of the tentacles back into it and leaving one left. She sighed in exhausting. "Max… Care to help?"

"Yeah yeah yeah…" Max said. Blood spheres formed all around him then were all pulled into the palm of his hand, forming one dense ball of eldritch energy. "I think I'll take a page out of Marisa's book." He then thrusted his hand forward, sending a large, dark red beam of energy out. The beam had a dark outline as if it was giving off darkness.

The beam went into the hole, knocking the beast back and causing it to start withdrawing its tentacle, but not before grabbing a hold of Remilia.

"Shit!" Remilia exclaimed as she was pulled through the hole and into the other side.

"Shit! Shit!" Max yelled as he chased after her with the hole closing right behind him.

"Max! Remilia!" Marisa cried out as she struggled to keep Alice in a headlock.

Max and Remilia appeared in the center of the universe, the court of the Outer Gods. Outer Gods, eldritch abominations of unimaginable size, danced around in circles while playing a dreaded tune. In the center of them was the most powerful and eldritch of all cosmic horrors in this reality, the one known only as the Blind Idiot God. It mindlessly listened to the music that was being played for it, not even noticing, or at least not caring about the small beings floating right above its incredibly massive form.

Remilia groaned as she floated in empty space. "Where… am I?" She said as she tried to rub the blurriness out of her eyes. Just before her vision cleared, Max grabbed a hold of her then pressed her face against his chest while burying his own face in her hair. "M-Max! What do you think you are doing?" She asked as she struggled to push him away.

"Shut up and keep your eyes closed. I need to think…" Max said.

"Does that require you to hold me like this?" Remilia said as her cheeks became flushed. She suddenly realized she could still hear the unholy music from before, only louder this time. "Max… Where are we…?" She nervously asked.

"The center of the universe now shut up so I can figure out what to do." Max said.

"The center of the universe? Well let me go and get us back to Gensokyo." Remilia said as she tried to push Max away, only to have him hug her harder.

"Don't be stupid. We're surrounded by gigantic cosmic horrors right now. One look at them and your brain will leak out through your nose. Now shut up for five seconds."

"Then hurry up and get us back. This is still embarrassing to be held like this by a man, even for me."

"I'm trying to figure out how. So give me a second."

"How did you get back to our world the last time?"

"I… made a portal…"

"Great. Now if you may-"

"It's not that simple." Max said, interrupting Remilia. "The last time I made a portal from scratch, I ended up in the Void. Who knows where we will end up this time if I tried."

"We don't have any other choice. We can't just float here forever."

"Sure we do. I could kill you now and spare you the site of these things."

"Like hell I am going to let you."

"Damn it, Remilia… If I were to fuck up with the portal, we could end up anywhere in existence. We could end up in the Void outside this universe or even a completely different reality from our own. Ending up in one of those places or being devoured by these horrors here is far worse than death. I promise you that…"

"So I should just cut my losses and give up? Is that what you are telling me to do, Max?"

"I'm trying to show a little compassion here…"

Remilia forced her face out of Max's chest then brought it close to his. "You tell me to give up. Will you give up as well?"

"Fuck no! I just don't want you to have to experience the horrors that I have or the new horrors I might just end up experiencing." Max said.

"Oh Maxi." Remilia said in a soft voice. "Are you becoming soft or is it just for me?"

"Don't… push it…"

"If you don't want me to experience the horrors of existence then make sure that I don't. Open up a portal and take us home!" Remilia commanded.

"You just don't have any clue!" Max shouted.

"You think I care? You think that I would give up just because of a few scary things? Ha! I am the Scarlet Devil you little twat." Remilia said as she stared into Max's red eyes. "You fight on so you can one day destroy the one in yellow, right? Well I am not leaving your side until you do. I don't care where you go."

Max gazed into Remilia's shining, scarlet eyes for a moment before saying anything. "You stubborn little asshole…"

"Look who's talking. Now harden the fuck up and open a portal back to Gensokyo!" Remilia shouted in Max's face.

"I don't need a little brat like you telling me that!" Max yelled. He then pressed Remilia's face back into his chest before looking in front of him. _"I need to be quick or my power will grab their attention..."_

A blood vessel in one of Max's eyes broke as his vision was being trashed from the sight of the gigantic monstrosities that floated mindlessly all around him. He focused his energy for a moment then swiped his hand in front of him, creating a black portal with a pulsating red trim around the edges. He hesitated to enter it, but after a few moments he, with Remilia close to him, dove into the dark unknown.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: The Great Library

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"Son of a… bitch…" Max said as he laid on a marble floor while his vision spun. "The hell am I?"

"Where are 'we' is the question. But before answering that, could you please let go of me?" Remilia said.

Max's vision slowly returned to normal and with his vision corrected, he could see that Remilia laid on top of him with her face awfully close to his as he had his arms wrapped around her tightly. "Ah Jeezus Christ!" Max yelled as he panicked, shoving Remilia off of him then scurrying to his feet. She landed on her butt with a loud thud.

"Ouch… Thank you…" Remilia said as she rubbed her sore behind.

"Shit! Where are we?" Max said as he looked around him hastily. What he saw was endless aisles of book shelves in every direction, including up. "What the flying fuck is this?"

"It would appear to be some sort of library."

"No shit Sherlock." Max said. He then noticed the hand Remilia held out to him as she sat on the floor.

"If you have time to be an ass then you have time to help a girl to her feet."

"Oh Jeezus Christ…" Max mumbled as he grabbed Remilia's hand then roughly pulling her up to her feet.

"What kind of manners were you brought up with?" Remilia asked as she brushed dirt off of herself.

"I was luring Russians soldiers into ambushes when I was ten. That's the kind of manners I was brought up with."

"I see. Looks like I will need to teach you some real manners when we get back."

"I got better things to do then waste my time with you."

"Like what?"

"Well I was thinking about taking my frustrations out on your little dream world like I was originally going to do, but of course that was before everyone in Gensokyo and their grandmothers knew I existed. You people already helped me better control my powers so I don't need you for that."

"And with that power you need to help us destroy whatever horrors are coming. Another reason why we need to hurry back to Gensokyo. The man in yellow might appear while we are gone."

Max sighed. "You still think he can get to our world? I told you that ain't possible. He's stuck in a dead dimension. Even if he was trying to get to our world we would definitely know about it."

"I know what I saw. Do not underestimate my powers to see fate."

"You could be wrong you know."

"I know that more than anyone. I just want to make sure you have the resolve you say you have to destroy that man in yellow. Your victory is Gensokyo's victory. I will not allow you to fail. Too much is at stake."

"Bitch, please." Max said as he turned around and began walking down one of the aisles.

Remilia sighed then began following Max. "You really are the stubborn one."

"And you have a way too much trust in me. What makes you think I won't turn on you after I defeat the bastard?"

"You aren't that kind of person. I saw that clearly back at my mansion."

"Weak moment. Nothing more."

"Perhaps. You also remind me of someone. If you were more mature you would be just like him."

"Uh huh… And who would that be?"

"My father."

"Your father?" Max said with a slight hint of surprise in his voice.

"I never mentioned this to anyone other than my dear sister before, but my father didn't start out as a noble vampire. On the contrary, he was lower than even the human peasants of the time."

"No shit?"

"It's true. Of course he refused to be a primitive vampire, so he decided to change that. It came with its hardships as most quests for greatness do. Many fellow vampires made it their sole purpose in their immortal lives to make sure my father would never reach the top of vampire society. It was one obstacle after another. He was just as stubborn as you, always pushing forward even when it seemed futile, but at times he would lose hope. Even a great vampire like him had to have someone to push him every so often."

"Who?"

"My mother, of course."

"I get what you're saying, but I'll say it once again, I don't need your help."

"I believe you say that only to keep me and anyone else who wants to help away because you are afraid they may suffer if you were to fail."

"Believe what you want. I don't care."

"I see my father's quest similar to yours. At times you may find yourself falling into despair. Even now I think you doubt it even possible to defeat the man in yellow and yet you still continue on. I admire that. I have hit many road blocks myself, thinking it pointless to keep trying. That feeling came back when I saw my sister driven insane because of your power."

"Funny… I was thinking about how you remind me of Kay not too long ago."

"Really?" Remilia said with a surprised look. She then formed a cocky grin. "I take it she had quite the amount of charisma?"

"She was a complete and total bitch that didn't know when to shut her mouth." Max said casually, causing Remilia's grin to disappear.

"I see… Perhaps that was a trait you liked? Certainly you weren't attracted to just her looks."

"She was the only one who ever gave a damn about me."

"There were many in Gensokyo that showed some care. I am sure they would be upset if something were to happen to you."

"Those people trust strangers way too damn much."

"Perhaps. If you were to stay in Gensokyo, you would quickly learn that it is okay to be a little open. I learned that myself when I first started living there. Don't let the pains of your past get in the way of making friends."

"No idea what you're talking about."

"You try not to show it, but you scorn the world. I can see it." Remilia said. Max said nothing as he continued down the unusually long aisle. She sighed then walked behind Max in silence. After about ten minutes, she broke the silence. "Have any idea where we are yet?"

"I'm beginning to get an idea…" Max said. "Let's just keep walking for a bit longer before I come to any conclusions." After about twenty minutes and with no end to the aisle, Max spoke. "Shit… Well we're still in our universe, just not the right world."

"Are you sure?" Remilia asked.

"Yeah. This is the Great Library of… bah what's the name? It's on the tip of my tongue."

"Whatever the name is, if this isn't our world then let us leave immediately."

"If only it was that simple…"

"Just focus this time. You have nothing but books to worry about so creating a portal that will lead us home should be easy."

"Wrong. Making a portal in this library would be a very bad idea. We need to leave before I try creating anything."

"Why is that?"

"Just trust me and stay close. Who knows what is lurking behind these books shelves… or with in the books themselves…" Max said.

Max and Remilia continued their way down the seemingly endless aisle. After about a half hour, they came to the end of the aisle and to an area that had many tables with piles of books on them. In some of the seats sat visitors of the library. Most, if not all, wore hoods to conceal their faces.

"People?" Remilia asked.

"Maybe…" Max said. "Don't go talking to any of them. Let's just concentrate on getting the hell out of here." He said before he began to look down each of the other aisles as he searched for signs for an exit.

Remilia assisted Max and started to search for clues in finding an exit to the strange library. She listened to the sounds of moving paper and whispers around her as she scouted the area. She was about to give up and return to Max's side when her attention was taken by a single book on one of the tables. Giving in to curiosity, she went over to the book and stared at the featureless cover. She hesitated to touch it, but her body seemed to move on its own as it picked the book up then opened it. What she found in the book was nothing, to the very literal sense of the word. She was completely baffled by the nothingness that she was looking at and quickly tried to close the book, but suddenly a strong force began to pull her into the nothingness.

"W-What?" Remilia said as she started to panic. She dropped the book to the floor, being brought to her knees in the process. She quickly braced herself by pushing up from the floor as she was being sucked into the book head first. "Max! Max!" She called out as she drew closer to the nothingness, but the sound of her voice was sucked into the book. "_Damn it all! I am going to meet my end because of a stupid book!" _She thought as her cap was sucked into the nothingness. Max quickly appeared and closed the book, causing her to fall backwards and hit the back of her head off of one of the tables. "Ouch!" She cried out.

"I forgot to tell you before." Max said as he glared at Remilia angrily. "Do NOT open any of these books." He took the book then shoved it into one of the book shelves. "That was more than likely some sort of prison book. You would have been trapped in their forever if you were sucked into it. I wouldn't have been able to get you out." He sighed in relief before noticing the others in the library staring at him. "Oops… Sorry…" He said after realizing how loud he just was. The others quietly returned to their reading.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Remilia was about to get up from the floor when she saw Max's extended hand. She stared at it in surprise for a moment before smiling then taking the hand that was offered to her.

"What you smiling about?" Max asked as he roughly pulled Remilia to her feet.

"You're catching on. Slowly, but surely." Remilia said.

Max sighed then started to look around. "If what I know about this place is true, it could be impossible to find the exit by normal means."

"Alright. Then how do we find it then?" Remilia asked.

"Maybe I could be of some assistance?" One of the other visitors of the library said as he walked up to Max and Remilia. He wore dark gray robes with a hood that covered his entire face save for his chin.

Max took notice of the man's exposed chin before speaking. "Yeah. Just point us towards the exit." He said. "_At least he looks human…" _The man pointed to his left. "Thanks." Max said then began walking in that direction, but stopped once the man pointed to his right. The man then began to point in every direction he could.

"Pick one." The man said.

"Uhm… Okay… Let me change my question." Max said while getting irritated. "Where is the nearest exit?"

"Nearest?" The man said. He then started to laugh, irritating Max even more. "There is no concept of distance here my earthly boy."

"Earthly?" Remilia said.

"Boy?" Max said as he grew more angered.

"It is quite easy to tell that you two are from Earth" The man said. "A male human and a," The man moved his hood covered face close to Remilia's face, causing her to take a step back in reaction. "Female vampire…"

Max softly pushed the man away from Remilia. "Right… Mind telling us how to get out of this library?"

"Before I tell you, could you tell me your names? And possibly humor me by telling me exactly how a teenage human and a not-even-a-millennium-old vampire got here in the first place?" The man said, causing Max and Remilia to wince at his words.

"I am Remilia Scarlet and this here is Max." Remilia said in a polite tone. "And yours?"

"You vampires… Always being noble and dignified when in the light. But of course we both know that's not the case in the darkness." The man said. "You may call me Joseph."

"Humph. I see that you are knowledgeable of vampires. You are from Earth as well, I take it?" Remilia said.

"Indeed I am, young miss." Joseph said. "How does that world fair? I have not been there since the break out of the Great War."

"In the past five hundred years that I have been alive, the world hasn't changed all that much." Remilia said while looking rather disappointed.

"Wait a god damn minute." Max said "The Great War? You mean World War One? It's been almost a century since then." He said while looking bewildered. "Just how old are you?"

"World War One?" Joseph said. He then burst out laughing. "Those damn fools. So much for the 'war to end all wars' eh?" He chuckled for a bit before speaking again. "Not as long as the young vampire here I will say." He said. "Now, if you may, please tell me how you came to be here."

"Opened a portal. Ended up here. Now, where is the nearest exit?" Max said hastily.

"You opened an extradimensional portal and then blindly went through it?" Joseph burst into another laugh. "I would have thought the vampire would at least be the one to know better than to blindly create extradimensional gateways. You both are equally foolish it seems."

"We didn't have much of a choice at the time." Remilia said while trying to not look as angered as she was.

"I see. Where were you before coming here then?" Joseph asked, seemingly already knowing the answer.

"The center of the universe. Now about that exit…" Max said.

Joseph went into yet another fit of laughter. "I won't bother asking how you got there or how you even managed to survive." He said while still laughing.

"We seemed to have amused you quite enough. So please, tell us how to leave this place." Remilia said.

"Are you even sure you want to leave the general safety of this library?" Joseph asked.

It took Max a few seconds to realize that the question was aimed at him. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Joseph smirked under his hood. "You know why…" He said. "I am in a similar predicament as you."

Max went to speak, but was beaten by Remilia. "How so?" She asked.

"During one of my foolish dabblings in alien magic, I had become marked for a particular cosmic horror that is only known as the Hunting Hound. So now if I leave a magically concealed area, I risk being spotted by the Hound and being devoured." Joseph said. "But it would seem that you have it worse." He said to Max with a light chuckle.

"How do you know about my situation?" Max asked.

"I can see it. I can see your aura just as those who would devour you do. An aura that attracts the horrors that crawl between the stars. And more specifically… the Slaves of Unreason from the Void."

"How is that possible?" Max asked.

Joseph stood in silence for a moment. He then pulled his hood back to reveal his face. Both Max and Remilia paled as they became sick from the sight. Joseph's eyes had been replaced with eyes of another creature. The alien eyes consisted of dark swirling blues and grays. Big red veins could be seen sprouting from the edge of the eyes and across his face.

"Holy shit…" Max said as he covered his mouth.

"I would have preferred a pair from a horror from the Void, but they would have been quite the chore to get, not that these ones weren't, mind you." Joseph said with a creepy smile.

"I bet…" Max said while trying not to look directly into Joseph's eyes.

"That aura can only be made from someone who possesses a certain power... and I know of only one being that does…" Joseph said as he slowly walked up to Max. Max stood his ground as they nearly touched chests. Joseph began poking the medallion behind Max's shirt. "Are you sure you are who you say you are, young man?" He asked.

Max stared into the alien eyes of the man as they stared back into his. "Yeah. I am."

Joseph remained silent for a moment before speaking. "I see…" He said as he backed up out of Max's personal space.

"The one being you said… Is it perhaps a man who wears yellow tattered rags?" Remilia asked.

"You know of him? Heh… Yes he is the one I speak of." Joseph said. "Question is… Why do you know of him?"

"We believe he currently threatens to destroy our world." Remilia said.

"I see… I see…" Joseph said. He then looked at Max. "So you wish to defeat him? If you wish to do that, you better defeat yourself first."

"What's that supposed to me?" Max asked in an irritated tone.

"You wish to fight the one who can't be fought. You wish to defeat the undefeatable. You wish to destroy the indestructible. You wish to go against something that makes the earthly gods tremble in mindless fear. You won't be able to do any of those while you remain conflicted." Joseph said.

"Conflicted? I ain't conflicted." Max said.

"Oh but you are. The vampire notices it just as much as I do. You need to decide on who is your true enemy. The one in yellow… or those who took your precious Kay away." Joseph said, finishing his last words with a grin.

Max ran up to Joseph then grabbed him by his robe and lifted him into the air. "You wanna lose those eyes of yours?" Max asked.

"You certainly have the power to get revenge on them. So much power you can barely control it. So why don't you? Oh that's right… You don't because you know that if you were to lay your vengeance on them… you would lose yourself to insanity… and a wave of never ending madness and horrors would crush you and that pathetic little world. But you desire revenge more than anything… It is all you have left now after all… And you know… in that torn heart of yours… that you just can't get revenge against one of them no matter what you do… So who will be the ones to satisfy your lust for revenge?" Joseph said with a twisted grin. Max then threw him into one of the book shelves, knocking some of the books it contained out.

"I think we heard enough from you. So how about telling us how to get out of here?" Remilia said.

Joseph remained silent for a moment again before speaking. "You haven't told her about the one in yellow have you? What he is…?" He said as he stared at Max.

"She doesn't need to know about him." Max said.

"Indeed. When facing the horrors of existence, it would seem the ones who know the most are the ones who are at a disadvantage against them, but then again it is good to know enough so you would know when you are way over your head…" Joseph said as he rubbed his injured head. "After all… if she were to know the true nature of the one in yellow… she would probably jam a stake into her beloved little sister's heart then turn it on herself in order to escape the impending doom." He said then suddenly found a red spear pointed at his throat.

"I will not ask you again." Remilia said while keeping her anger concealed. "Tell us how we can exit this place."

"Sorry to be the one to tell you, but I don't know how to leave the Great Library." Joseph said.

"What?" Max and Remilia yelled.

"I haven't figured out how to leave here since I arrived. Not that I have been trying to leave. I am perfectly safe here as long as I do not upset the librarians." Joseph said while minding the spear pointed at his throat.

"It is men like you that I hate the most. You find yourself in an unfavorable situation and do nothing to try and change it." Remilia said as she started to poke Joseph's neck with her spear, drawing a little blood.

"Because I know it is futile. There is nothing that will change my fate. Just as there is nothing Max here can do to change his… and he knows it." Joseph said as he tried to move away from the spear.

"You're wrong!" Remilia shouted.

"Don't kill him. Let that Hound or whatever have him." Max said. Remilia glared at Joseph for a moment before pulling her spear away from him and nodding at Max.

"You say you made a portal to come here? I assume you did that, boy. You might want to learn how to create them correctly before trying again. You never know where you might end up. Just don't do it here. You wouldn't want to upset the librarians." Joseph said as he got up back on his feet and pulling his hood back over his face.

"Max, just open a portal back home here. We can't be wasting our time getting out of this bizarre library." Remilia said.

"Did you not just here me, little vampire? Breaking through the magic barrier and the veil here is strictly forbidden. I am surprised they didn't notice you when you first arrived." Joseph said.

"We can handle a few librarians." Remilia said.

"Are you sure about that, miss?" Joseph said.

"He's right. I think the librarians here are not what you have in mind." Max said.

"So? Now is not the time for you to be cautious. Hurry up. Anywhere is better than being here with this freak." Remilia said.

"For fuck sake fine. I mean what's the worst the can happen?" Max said.

"Stop being a smartass and just do it." Remilia commanded.

"Fine, but let's do it away from these people… or things… No need to risk them getting in the way." Max said. Remilia nodded then they both made their way down one of the endless aisles.

"Take what pleasures you can before it's too late, boy! That world is doomed! Don't let the horrors take away your chance to have your revenge!" Joseph shouted. Max and Remilia continued on their way without looking back. "God speed, kid… God speed…" He said quietly before vanishing into thin air.

Max and Remilia walked side by side as they made their way down the aisle.

Remilia noticed Max making a glance at her before quickly looking back in front of him. "You have been sneaking peaks at me for the past five minutes. Do I have something on me or am I just that pretty?" She said.

"You look a lot better without that hat." Max said.

"Do I?" Remilia asked with a little redness in her cheeks.

"Yeah… That hat looked retarded as hell."

Remilia sighed. "It was a wonderful cap and it went well with my dress."

"Well whatever floats your bloat I guess."

"But perhaps you are right? Maybe it is time for a change in dressing habits and do away with the cap."

"I didn't suggest anything…"

"I am sure that would make you happy, right?" Remilia asked cheerfully.

"_She ain't listening…" _Max thought then sighed. "Yeah. Sure." He said with a small smile.

"Good. Now when we get back home, we need to find you a better set of clothes. Those ones look atrocious."

"I've been fighting in them…"

"I have plenty of clothe meant for men that need to be worn by an actual man. I am tired of having Sakuya wear them."

"Oh my god…" Max mumbled. "Alright. Whatever. Let's just worry about getting home for now."

"Good idea." Remilia said. "Are we far enough from those people yet?"

"Probably not, but let's try anyways. Just prepare yourself. It is going to take me longer than usual to open a portal since I got a powerful magical barrier to punch through and I am sure the librarians will not like it."

Remilia nodded at Max then formed a red spear. "Make it quick. I need to get out of this bloodied dress and into a nice, hot bath.

"_Not the image I need right now…" _Max said as his face reddened a little. He then began channeling his energy as he prepared to open a portal.

"Hey Max…" Remilia said.

"What is it?" Max asked as he tried to focus.

"About the man in yellow… Does his power come from the same god as yours does?" Remilia asked.

Max hesitated to answer. "You could say that…"

"I see…" Remilia said. "_I was already worried about Max's power causing irreparable damage to Gensokyo, but it looks like we will be fighting someone with a far greater share of that power…"_

Suddenly, the light around them started to dim. Dark and horrible groans could be heard from the distance and they only got louder and louder as Max continued to create a portal. Remilia looked around her cautiously as a cold shiver ran down here spine.

"What is that?" Remilia asked.

"I believe that would be the librarians…" Max said.

"How much longer?"

"Just a minute. This magic barrier is a bitch to punch a hole through."

The shadows made by the bookshelves began to twist and move as the groans drew closer. Movement could now be heard among the bookcases. The light faded to where only Max's power and Remilia's spear were the only sources of light.

"_Even my vampire eyes can't pierce through this darkness…" _Remilia thought. "Uh… Max? Mind hurrying up?"

"I am trying to do multiple things at once here. Punch through the barrier and make the portal go to where we want. Just hold them off for a little bit."

"How can I hold something back that I can't even see?"

"You not seeing them is an advantage…" Max said. He then finally succeeded in making a portal. "Alrighty then! Let's get the fuck out 'a here."

"About time." Remilia said as she returned to Max's side then waited for him to enter. "Well?" She said after a few seconds.

"We were lucky this time. We might not be so lucky again." Max said as he gazed into the black portal.

Remilia sighed. "We won't know until we try. Now get in there." She said before shoving Max into the portal.

"What the fu-" Max tried to speak as he stumbled into the dark portal, with Remilia following right behind him.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: The Void

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

A black portal appeared in the middle of a wasteland with Max and Remilia stepping out of it. The landscape was covered with nothing but black, jagged stone. The atmosphere was black with no noticeable clouds in the sky. The sun of the world hovered just above the horizon and gave off a dim orange light.

"God damn it." Max said in frustration.

"Just try again. You'll get it eventually." Remilia said.

"Yeah sure, right after I rest for a minute." Max said as he sat on the ground then rested his head on his hand.

"The sooner you get us home the sooner you can rest. Now get back up." Remilia said as she tried to force Max back up to his feet.

Max swatted Remilia's hand away. "Fuck off. If I take a breather maybe I can get us home this time."

Remilia sighed. "Fine, but only for a minute." She said before she started to survey the lands around them. "Looks like just some random barren planet."

"Yeah, but it looks like it still has things living on it." Max said.

"It does? Where?" Remilia asked. Max then pointed behind her. She turned around then spotted a giant, bi-pedal looking creature beyond the horizon. "Is it hostile?"

"Doesn't look like it. Seems to be minding its own business."

Remilia then turned back around to face Max. "Times up. Get up so we can get going."

"Give me another minute."

"Stop being lazy." Remilia said as she grew impatient.

"Blow me." Max jeered. He then saw Remilia sneering at him with her fangs protruding out. "Erm… I take that back." He then watched as the giant in the distance made its way across the dark horizon, walking behind the sun rather than in front of it. Max's jaw dropped from the sight.

"What is it?" Remilia asked as she went to turn around.

"Nothing!" Max exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and grabbed a hold of Remilia's shoulders, keeping her from turning around. "Let's just leave."

"Um… Yes… That would be nice." Remilia said. Max let go of her shoulders then channeled his energy as he prepared to open another portal. "Don't think of the places we could end up in, only of home. Only of Gensokyo."

"Yeah yeah."

"Don't 'yeah' me. Just do it." Remilia commanded.

"_Annoying little…" _Max thought. After a short moment, a dark portal opened in front of him. "Let's go."

Remilia nodded then they both entered the portal. They made many attempts to return to Gensokyo as they journeyed across the universe, ending up visiting many different places in the process. At times they would arrive on rather empty worlds.

"This sucks!" Max yelled out in frustration at the green colored sky of the barren world they were on.

Other times they would arrive in worlds with less than friendly conditions.

"Get us out of here! Get us out of here!" Remilia yelled as her skin began to burn due to the proximity the planet they were on was to its star.

Some worlds had friendly inhabitants.

"This is awesome! Fuck Gensokyo, let's stay here!" Max said excitedly as beautiful woman in tribal clothing and pointy ears catered to him. Remilia watched in disgust then quickly grabbed him and dragged him away from the large group of girls. "Oh come on!" He protested.

Other worlds had hostile creatures.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" Max shouted as he and Remilia were swarmed by large, insect-like aliens.

Sometimes they would accidently slip into other dimensions.

"This is so fucking weird…" Max said, with Remilia nodding in agreement. They floated in what felt like goo as large, ameba-like creatures harmlessly floated around them.

After many attempts, they took a break in a surreal dimension. Max and Remilia sat on a giant, square shape object as it and many other giant blocks floated aimlessly in a pale blue void.

"We're never going to get back. At this rate we'll end up in a place we can't get out of." Max said as he breathed heavily from exhaustion.

"You made it back before did you not? What did you do then that you are not doing now?" Remilia asked.

"I didn't make my own portal. That's what I did differently." Max said.

"That is just great…" Remilia said, not bothering to hide her impatience.

"Don't give me that. I told you before I can't correctly make portals. Your brilliant plan of trying over and over again until luck kicks in ain't working. We just keep getting further and further away from where we want to be."

"Well anyways. Get us out of this strange dimension and at least to our own one where we can rest properly." Remilia said as she stood up.

"Fine…" Max said as he stood back up. He then created a portal. "Ladies first."

Remilia nodded then the both of them entered the portal. After a moment, they were both flung out the other end and into a black void.

"Where are we now? And why does it feel like there is no gravity? Just another strange dimension?" Remilia asked as she looked around the blackness as stellar lights dimmed and grew in the distance. She then noticed the terror that had surfaced in Max's face. "Max, what's wrong?"

"This is wrong. This whole place is wrong. I fucking knew this would happen. I fucking knew it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Max said as he began to panic.

"Calm down. This isn't a big deal. If this is not a good place to be then just get us out of here." Remilia said as she tried to reassure Max.

"That's the fucking problem! I can't!" Max shouted at Remilia. "I can make a portal into this place but not out of it!"

Remilia's face paled. "What? Why not?"

"This is The Void. It exists far outside our universe and creating portals within it is near impossible." Max said as he tried to stay calm, sweat running down his paled face as his eyes hastily moved back and forth, looking out for any of the terrors that lurked within the black void.

"The Void?"

"I was hoping to never have to experience this place again." Max said as he shivered.

Remilia placed her hands on the sides of Max's face then forced him to look at her. "Get a hold of yourself. You are much stronger than the last time and you have me here to help. Now tell me how you got out of here the first time."

"Um… I…" Max tried to speak as he looked around him.

"Focus!" Remilia shouted, forcing Max to look back at her.

"Um… We need to find a dimensional rip. I can change it into something we can use to get out of here."

"Good. Let us find one then."

Max pushed Remilia away. "You make it sound so easy. There's an infinite amount of cosmic horrors out there that will devour us on sight and the worst part about it is they already know that we're here thanks to my power."

Remilia grabbed a hold of Max's chin. "No amount of horrors is going to stand in my way so you don't have to worry about them. I'll protect you." Remilia cooed.

Max frightened expression changed to that of anger. He then slapped Remilia's hand away. "You're just an idiotic vampire! A low life creature like you won't last long against these things. On earth you're powerful, but out here? You're nothing." He scowled.

"Nothing, eh?" Remilia said with an upset look. She then started to fly off into the void.

"Were do you think you're going?" Max said as he followed her.

"To find a dimensional rip." Remilia said.

"Not without me you aren't. You don't stand a chance against these things."

"We'll see…"

"I ain't saying it to insult you. It's just the way it is out here. Your existence is meaningless outside of Earth."

Remilia suddenly stopped then grabbed a hold of Max's face, her nails digging into his cheeks. "Just watch me." She said before shoving Max away.

"Damn you…" He said as he rubbed his face.

"I am a vampire of the Scarlet family. I will not be brought down by one of these mindless horrors."

"You are way over your head."

"And you're not?"

"I'm different. I don't know if it's because of my power or what, but I can handle the encounters with these things. You can't. With each encounter, your mind will break down bit by bit until there is nothing left of you but an empty shell."

"You underestimate my vampire mind." Remilia said as she continued to search through the void at high speed.

"Getting your mind shredded to pieces isn't going to help Gensokyo or prove anything other than that you're stupid." Max said as he struggled to follow her.

"Gensokyo is not my main concern."

"Then what the hell are you taking unnecessary risks for?"

Remilia suddenly stopped with Max nearly flying into her before he stopped. "I lost my parents to a horror bellow the sea."

"_Bellow the sea? She doesn't mean 'him' does she?" _Max thought.

"My father was investigating a rumor of a city bellow the sea that would surface when the stars were aligned in a certain way. He found the city and explored it and during his exploration, he ended up waking up the terror that slept there. He and my mother fought the creature with my father falling to the beast and my mother managing to escape it, but not before having her mind scarred by the encounter. The beast my father released was resealed by a large group of powerful human mages eventually, but my mother could never forget the terrible encounter. Flandre and I had to watch as she suffered after that. In the end she took her own life before her insanity fully engulfed her in order to prevent her from harming us in her madness."

"I see…" Max said.

"If I wish to become a greater vampire than my father, then I can't let myself be beaten by these insignificant horrors. If I wish to protect my sister from these cosmic horrors and her own power, then I need to become more powerful."

"So you do this for your family? Must be nice…"

"You're still young. You have plenty of time to experience the feeling of having a family. When this whole thing is over, you should find a girl to settle down with in Gensokyo. I am sure you could find someone with those looks of yours."

"Yeah, because I've been so lucky with woman before…" Max said unenthusiastically.

"I am being serious."

"Find me a girl that wouldn't mind a guy who attracts unspeakable horrors from beyond time and space and get back to me."

"We can find a way to deal with that. Don't underestimate the magic of Gensokyo." Remilia said. She fell to silence for a moment as she pondered to herself. "Max…"

"What?"

Remilia turned around and gazed into Max's eyes. "If that man in yellow does appear in our world… Fight him. I don't care if you can win against him or not, just fight him until the end. I promise you I will do what I can to help, but I believe it is your fate to defeat him."

Max gazed back into Remilia's pleading eyes. "I'm going to make sure he never makes it to our world as long as I still draw breath. So don't worry about it."

Remilia smiled. "I am glad to hear that."

"Good. Glad you're glad." Max said. His content expression turned serious as he started to look around him.

"We have yet to see any horrors, but… is that a good thing?" Remilia said as she looked around with concern.

"It ain't a good sign… Let's get looking and get the fuck out of here." Max said with Remilia nodding.

Max and Remilia quickly flew around the endless void as they searched for a dimensional scar. As time went on with the lack of any of the Void's inhabitants crossing their path, paranoia began to creep up in them.

"It's there, right? It isn't just me?" Remilia asked as she constantly glanced behind her.

"We might be being stalk by something. That or this place is messing with our heads." Max said as sweat poured down his stressed face.

"We should take care of it now." Remilia said.

"No. Just keep going." Max said.

"What is that?" Remilia asked as she spotted some kind of rip in space in the distance.

"That's it! Holy shit this is great! We must be lucky as hell to find one so quickly. I'm so happy I could kiss you right about now." Max said happily. He then turned to see that Remilia was no longer flying by his side, having stopped a ways back. He stopped then called out to her. "Hey! We're almost out of Fucksville so what the hell are you waiting for?" He then saw that she was looking at something above them. He quickly looked up with his happy expression turning into dread as he saw what she was looking at. "Oh god… Not one of these ones…" He then heard Remilia collapse into screams of utter terror as fear over took her. "Remilia!" He called out as he raced to her side. He grabbed a hold of her then buried her face into his chest to shield her eyes from the sight of the cosmic monstrosity that now hovered above them. "Get a grip, Remilia!" He said as he tried to calm her while she thrashed around screaming in his arms.

"Shit… We need to get away from this thing and find another dimensional rip." Max said.

"No!" Remilia yelled as she dug her nails into Max's back, causing him to flinch in pain. She forced herself to face Max, revealing tears mixed with blood flowing down her face. "We leave through that one right now."

"I can't mess with that rip with that thing here. It'll devour us the moment I try."

"Then I'll just have to distract it now won't I?" Remilia said before shoving Max back then charging forth towards the dooming horror with a grand, red spear at hand.

"No you insane bitch! This isn't a horror we can win against!" Max called out.

Remilia struggled to keep her fear in check with her rage as she flew towards the giant horror. "_Watch me, father. Watch your daughter defeat what you could not!"_ She thought as she fought to keep the threads of her sanity together.

Countless numbers of the horror's tentacles shot out for Remilia as they attempted to intercept her. The tentacles ranged from many different widths, from the width of a fishing line to the width of a blue whale. Remilia roared as she cut down the hordes of tentacles as she made her way to the body of the horror.

"STUPID!" Max yelled. "_I need to take this chance to change that dimensional rift into a way outta here before that doom horror eats her." _He thought as he raced towards the dimensional rip. He then noticed the rip was diminishing in size. "Shit! Don't close on me!" He exclaimed. He then made it to the rip before it could close any further. "Damn it. Now I gotta keep the thing open while trying to make it into an actual portal. Just my fucking luck…"

Remilia continued her way towards the body of the giant horror, slashing and slicing the hordes of tentacles that got in her way. She pulled out a spell card. "My Heartbreak!" She shouted, followed by a large number of grand red spears forming all around her then firing into the sea of tentacles. She followed the path of destruction her spears made, but soon found herself completely surrounded by more tentacles. They twisted and weaved around one another as they began to close in on her. She channeled her magical power to her center and just when the mass of tentacles were about to crush her, she unleashed that power, destroying the tentacles. She could now see one of the many large, black eyes of the nightmarish monstrosity and made her way towards it. The giant horror suddenly turned its sight to Max, noticing what he was now doing.

"God damn it! Why is this being such a bitch to manipulate?" Max yelled in frustration as he struggled to form the tear in space into a usable portal. He glanced over his shoulder to see the giant monstrosity heading towards him. "Ah shit…"

"How dare you turn your back on me!" Remilia shouted at the horror as it left her alone. She held up her hand above her head, forming another red spear. She channeled more of her powers into the single spear increasing its size ten times. "Taste death!" She shouted as she threw the mighty spear with all her rage, piercing the terrible being in the back. The horror's tentacles began to form into a shape of a person before her and after several seconds, they had formed into a near perfect replica of herself save for the pitch black eyes. "_A hallucination?" _She thought. The fake Remilia formed a red spear then charged for her with her blocking the spear with one of her own. "You think to hold me back with this thing?"

The giant horror's mouth opened and within in it more mouths opened in infinite recur. It bellowed as it went to devour Max. "Shit shit shit!" He said quickly as the thing drew closer. He slowed the horror's approach as he tried to push it back with his psychic powers. "_I can't keep it away for long." _He thought as blood ran down his nose. "_Come on you damn rip. Work with me here…"_

Remilia and the fake fought furiously with one another with sparks of red energy dancing around them. Flashes of red light emitted from them every time their spears clashed with one another. They would fire barrages of danmaku at one another, only for the danmaku of one Remilia to hit the danmaku of the other. Remilia then burst into a swarm of bats as did the fake. Hundreds of red eyed and black eyed bats clashed with one another then proceeded to rip each other apart, littering the area with the blood and pieces of bats. Remilia reformed, followed by the fake, then formed two spears then went to slash the fake. The fake quickly formed two spears as well then blocked her attack, locking their spears together and leaving them both struggling to break the other one's guard.

The fake Remilia's cold, black eyes stared into Remilia's eyes as they both struggled to break the dead lock. "Weak." The fake said in a distorted version of Remilia's own voice.

"What did you say?" Remilia sneered. The fake thrusted her spears forward, breaking her guard block and knocking her back. "Damn you." She cursed as she went to spear through the fake's heart., only for the fake to grab a hold of the end of her spear. "What?" She said in surprise.

"Pathetic." The fake said then sent its power into Remilia's spear, shattering it into pieces.

"Damn!" Remilia shouted in frustration then swung her second spear at the fake only to have the fake break it with its own spears. The fake then retaliated by quickly hurling its spears at her, making her scream in pain as the spears sliced both of her arms off.

"He was right. You don't belong out here." The fake said to the tired Remilia. "You should have just stayed on your little world and waited for your inevitable doom instead of coming out here in search of it."

"Shut up!" Remilia exclaimed as blood gushed from her wounds while her arms refused to regenerate. "_Damn it. Why aren't they reforming?"_

The fake dove for Remilia and grabbed a hold of her neck with both of its hands then proceeded to squeeze. "You could never follow in your father's footsteps. It was all in vain. Now you and the boy shall be devoured, just as your father was. First… the boy." The fake said.

Remilia glanced over to see the giant horror was close to completely shutting its monstrous mouth around Max. Blood ran down Max's nose and ears as a severe migraine wracked his mind. He panted hard as fatigue had nearly reached its max.

"How could you show so much trust in a boy who has only ever caused disappointment with his constant failures? What makes you think he won't fail you as he did his fellow humans?" The fake asked while gazing into Remilia's eyes.

Remilia stared back into the black eyes of the fake. "It is because he has me. If it is his fate to fail, then I will change it with my power!" Remilia yelled. Her arms then suddenly reformed and with them she grabbed a hold of the fake's arms then started to pull them away from her neck.

"Eh?" The fake said as it was being overpowered. Remilia roared as she tilted her head back then swung it forward, smashing her forehead against its. "Gah!" The fake said as it was knocked back.

Remilia formed a grand spear then with a mighty roar, pierced it through the heart of the fake. She watched as the fake slowly disintegrated into black smoke. She let out a sigh of relief then turned her attention to the horror itself. "Hold on, Max!" She hollered then pulled out a spell card. "Night Sign: Bombard Night!" She was engulfed in a fiery red aura then charged forth towards the giant horror at great speeds. The horror's tentacles tried in vain to stop her approach, but were incinerated by her powerful aura. She smashed into the body of the horror with a great explosion, knocking the horror away from Max. "Hurry the hell up!" She shouted.

"Fuck off! You try and form a portal out of an unstable rip while holding something like that back." Max said. The rip in space suddenly turned into a wobbling vortex then started to shrink in size. "Unstable piece of shit. Alrighty then, let's get the fuck out of here. "Max said as he waved his hand for Remilia to enter the vortex.

"About time." Remilia said as she raced for the vortex. Suddenly, many of the horrors tentacles wrapped around her then started to pull her towards it. "Persistent bastard!" She yelled as she wildly slashed at the tentacles in a mad bid to free herself.

"Fuck! We don't have time!" Max exclaimed as the vortex grew smaller and smaller. He then held his hands over his head and started to channel his dark power into them. His red aura surrounded him as red sparks ran across his body. The yellow symbol on Max's medallion could be seen glowing underneath his shirt. "Alrighty then. Let's see how much I can pump out without killing myself." Max said as a burning, black sphere began to grow in his hands. His skin and bones began to crack as the dark power grew in intensity. The black sphere grew to about the size of Max. It gave off a dark red shine like a star in the night sky. "Die you son of a bitch!" Max yelled before throwing the black star with all his strength. The black star rocketed passed Remilia, setting aflame the tentacles that held her as well as her dress.

"Ouch! You nearly hit me you fool!" Remilia yelled as she shook off the last bits of the tentacles then rushed for the shrinking vortex.

The black star hit its mark, engulfing the giant horror in a titanic explosion of black flames. It let out a vile howl as it retreated into the dark void.

"Holy shit… Did you see what I just did?" Max asked.

"Awesome now let's get out of here!" Remilia said as she tackled Max.

"Umph!" Max said as Remilia tackled him into the vortex right before it closed, sending them into the unknown.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: No Rest

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Max laid on a bed of grass and groaned as his body ached all over. He looked around him as he sat up while rubbing his eyes. His pained expression disappeared as he realized his escape from The Void. "Yes! Fucking right! I don't know where we're at, but it ain't in that fucked up place!" He shouted happily. "_I cannot believe we made it out of there alive. And we managed to beat back that powerful horror. Maybe beating the yellow bastard isn't so farfetched after all?" _He thought.

"It is nice to see you excited, but could you please get off of me? The ground is cold." Remilia said.

Max looked down at the ground to realize that he was sitting on top of Remilia. He also noticed that she was now stripped of her dress for she was covering her breasts with one of her arms. "Oh… sorry…" He said as his face reddened. His eyes then started to wonder down from her chest down to her stomach then was suddenly smacked across the face, knocking him off of her. "Ow! The hell was that…err… never mind. I totally deserved that." He said. "_The hell am I getting all excited for? She looks like a kid for fuck sake…"_

"Of course you did. Taking advantage of a girl while she's down." Remilia said while looking mildly upset.

"I didn't do anything!" Max protested.

"You did enough…" Remilia said as she blushed and averted her eyes away from Max.

Max stood up and took his shirt off then, while not looking at Remilia, handed it to her. "Here. I'll freeze since it's my fault your dress got burned up."

"About time you offered." Remilia said as she snatched the shirt away.

"Be happy I did."

"I am happier that you finally managed to get us back to Gensokyo."

"You better be… Wait a minute…" Max quickly scanned the area, noticing the earthly flora that grew around them and the misty lake not too far away. "Yes! Oh hell yes!" He exclaimed as he started to dance around, but suddenly fell to his knees. "Ah shit… Body is still a little messed up."

"Then let us return to my mansion. I will treat you to some food and clean clothes for a job well done." Remilia said.

Max and Remilia made their way across Misty Lake. They both looked up to see the unnatural blackness hanging in the sky.

"Why is the sky still like that?" Max asked.

"Looks like we still have work to do." Remilia said.

They both landed at the front gate of the Scarlet Devil Mansion where Meiling stood awake.

"Miss Remilia!" Meiling shouted in surprise when she noticed Max and Remilia. "Eh? Where is your dress?" She asked as she noticed Remilia had no dress and the shirtless Max.

"It is nice to see that you are awake, Meiling." Remilia said while ignoring the question.

"Miss Sakuya, Marisa and I just returned from searching for you again. We were so worried after Marisa and Alice said you had been sucked into some strange hole." Meiling said.

"I am quite alright. I had Max here to help me in my return." Remilia said. "Come in, Max. I will have Sakuya prepare you a healthy meal while you wash. She will get you better clothe as well."

"Just clean these ones. It's nice to have a shirt that doesn't get destroyed after a fight." Max said.

"No. You will wear the clothes I give you. They will be just as durable if not more." Remilia said.

"Ah fine…" Max said, not bothering to argue then entered the mansion with Remilia and Meiling.

Max tried to quickly take his bath, but had to shoo any mischievous fairy maids who thought to bathe at that time.

"Come back when you've aged physically!" Max shouted as he chased some fairy maids out of the large bath.

"Kya!" The fairies yelled as they ran off giggling.

Max sighed. "Damn girls…" He said as he wrapped a towel around him. "My as well get out now." He walked into the changing room to see Sakuya laying out some clothe. "_Now why couldn't she try to sneak into the bath instead of those fairies?" _He thought.

"By milady's orders, these are for you." Sakuya said.

"Yeah… thanks." Max said.

Sakuya turned around to leave, but quickly turned back around then gazed at Max. "These are one of milady's most sacred treasures. Please do not destroy them." She said.

"She does know that I will probably end up fighting in these, right?" Max asked.

"These were made to be fought in, but still, try and take care of them." Sakuya said while looking a little upset.

"Alright… Jeez…" Max said. Sakuya then turned to leave. "You know there is something you could do for me to make me a little more careful with these clothes." He said with a smug look.

Sakuya stopped without turning around to face Max. "You should be honored to even be able to wear those. That alone should be enough motivation to take care of them."

"Did I forget to mention I was the one that brought your master home safely?"

"You brought her home in just her panties and in your shirt…"

"I still brought her home."

"Hurry and change. The mistress awaits you in the dining hall." Sakuya said before vanishing.

"Damn… Was worth trying." Max said before dressing.

After finishing getting dressed, Max made his way to the dining hall where Remilia, Patchouli and Flandre sat at a table. Remilia's face lit up when she saw him enter the room.

"I knew it. You look great in those." Remilia said happily.

"Wow! He looks just like umph!" Flandre tried to speak, but Remilia suddenly covered her mouth before she could finish her sentence.

"Be quiet and eat your food." Remilia said. She let go of Flandre, who puffed her cheeks at her, then turned to Max. "Please sit down. Sakuya will have your food for you shortly."

"I didn't think you vampires ate regular food." Max said as he sat down in one of the vacant seats.

"You wouldn't want what she is eating…" Patchouli said while not looking away from her open book.

"Uh huh…" Max said with a confused expression. "It also looks like you people almost got this place fixed up. Surprising considering the dump it was earlier."

"Sakuya always keeps herself busy." Remilia said.

Sakuya entered the room with a plate full of food then laid them out in front of Max.

"Thank you, Sakuya. That will be all." Remilia said. Sakuya bowed then left the room.

Max quickly dug into the food that was given to him. "I thought I was going to die of starvation more than anything. This is great." He said with food in his mouth.

"Do not speak with your mouth full." Remilia said while trying to hide her disgust.

"Yeah!" Flandre said with food in her mouth and then was bonked on the head by Remilia. "Ow!"

"The same goes for you." Remilia said. She then faced Max. "Patchy here was just telling me how she might be able to make a spell that will help conceal your power. That way you might be able to venture into the outside world without risk. Isn't that right, Patchy?"

Patchouli nodded. "With all the research I have done while looking for ways to protect against your powers effects, I should be able to use that new found knowledge to make a spell that will hide your power." Patchouli said without looking away from her book.

"I'll believe it when I see it." Max said before gulping down a glass of water. He sat down the empty glass then sighed in satisfaction. "That was damn good. Hate to ask, but do you got a spare bed? I'm tired as hell."

"Of course. I have already had Sakuya prepare one of the bedrooms for you." Remilia said.

"What? It's in the middle of the day!" Flandre complained. "Since Marisa is out, I need someone to play with."

"Last time we 'played' you went all loopy." Max said as he rested his head on the table.

"You did too from what I heard." Patchouli said.

"I don't remember last time!" Flandre shouted.

"Settle down, Flandre." Remilia commanded. Sakuya returned with a couple of cups of tea then sat them before Remilia and Patchouli. "Thank you, Sakuya. Could you take Max to his room?"

"Yes, milady." Sakuya said with a bow then turned to Max. "Please follow me."

"Yeah yeah." Max said while yawning at the same time then got up to follow Sakuya.

Sakuya led Max to one of the many empty bedrooms of the mansion, walking passed the many fairy maids who rushed to clean what remained of the debris from the last fight.

"This will be your room while you remain here in the Scarlet Mansion." Sakuya said as she opened the door to the bedroom then entered with Max close behind her.

"Thanks, babe." Max said, giving Sakuya a pat on the behind then letting himself fall face first into the bed.

Sakuya blushed a little while clenching her fists, opting to retaliate against Max but deciding against it. "Try not to destroy anything…" She said as she left Max alone in his room.

"_Feels like it's been forever since the last time I slept." _Max thought as he laid in his bed. "_Alright… Let's consider what Remilia thinks is true. If the yellow prick could get into this world, what are the ways could he use? Calling his name three times only has the potential of calling him to this world, but it would probably just bust some ear drums and drive those who heard it insane. I doubt anyone is this world even knows his true name and even if they did they would have killed themselves in a fit of madness from knowing it. I don't even frikin know it. Summoning him in a conventional way requires far too many blood sacrifices to even be feasible. The black sky ain't no indication of his presence. The sky would be bleeding and people across the world would be going mad if he was even close. I just don't see him getting here anytime soon." _

"_Max…" _A dark, twisted female voice echoed in his mind, causing him to jump to his feet.

"Name, now. Place, now." Max said angrily.

"_Oh, Max… All the traits that make me love you so much… are the same traits that irritates me to no end." _The voice said.

"Enough of this shit. Tell me who you are and where I can find you so I can kick your ass."

"_If you really want to know everything, then come to the mountain, but only if you are sure you want to know…" _The voice said as it slowly faded into silence.

"Mountain? What fucking mountain? Hello?" Max said as he poked the side of his head. "Hey! What mountain are you talking about? Damn it!" Max let out a long, drawn out sigh. "_Shit… I need to piss now." _He thought then looked around. "_I should have asked where the bathroom was. I really don't want to go looking for the damn thing in this oversized house." _Max looked behind him then stared at the window. "_This place barely has enough windows, yet I got a room with one. I'm sure no one would care. Not that I'd care even if they did."_ He thought as he walked over to the window then opened it. He stood on the ledge of the window, pulled out his junk then proceeded to pee out the window. "Ah… Much better…" He said in relief. He surveyed the lake, trying to see passed the mist while he did his business.

"Hey! You!" A girl shouted.

"Shit. Come on. Come on." Max mumbled. "Longest piss ever…"

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" The girl shouted again.

Max looked to his side, spotting a fairy flying towards him. The fairy had icicle-shaped wings and wore a blue dress and a blue ribbon in her light blue hair. Once she got closer he could see that she had aqua-colored eyes. "_I'm pissing on her once she's in range. Annoying fairies…"_ He thought.

The girl stopped right beside Max, crossing her arms before speaking. "Why are you ignoring me?"

"Uh… Because I'm kinda busy. Mind not bothering me?" Max said.

The girl looked down at Max's exposed self. "Oh!" She exclaimed while looking astonished. "You're a boy! That means you're the one I'm looking for!" She said while looking rather proud of herself.

"Yes… I'm a boy… Too bad I had this out in plain view or I could have kept it a secret from you…" Max said as he fixed his pants after finishing his business.

"There is nothing you can hide from me!" The girl said confidently. She then saw that Max wasn't listening to her, instead about to close the window. "Hey wait! We need to fight! Umph!" She said while flying into the window that was suddenly shut on her. She pushed her self away from the window then rubbed her nose. "That hurt…" She puffed her cheeks then pushed the windows back open. "Why'd you do that for?" The girl yelled. Max laid back in bed as he continued to ignore her. "Don't go to sleep! We need to fight!" She jumped on Max's back then started to shake him. "Get up and fight me!"

"_Isn't that gate guard girl supposed to keep intruders out?" _Max thought.

"Cirno! Where did you go?" Another girl shouted.

"Daiyousei! In here! I found the bad guy!" Cirno called out.

Daiyousei poked her head through the window, spotting Cirno as she tried to get Max out of bed. She had short green hair with a yellow ribbon and wore a blue dress with white sleeves. Her wings were a golden color. "Cirno, you shouldn't fly off without at least warning me first. I almost lost you." She said as she entered the room.

"_Not another stupid fairy…" _Max thought as he was continuously shook.

"Please excuse my friend. She doesn't mean any harm." Daiyousei said.

Max turned his head to face Daiyousei. "_This one is actually being polite…" _He thought. Max then got up, with Cirno clinging to his back.

"Hey! Don't get up so suddenly!" Cirno shouted. Max got out of the bed then stared at Daiyousei's chest.

Daiyousei blushed and averted her eyes from Max's. "Um… Yes…?" She said shyly.

"You have the biggest boobs I have yet seen on a fairy." Max said bluntly.

"Eh?" Daiyousei said as her face redden even more.

"Hey! Mine are pretty big too!" Cirno said as she pushed her chest up against Max's back.

"Uh… No… They aren't." Max said with Cirno puffing her cheeks at him. "Now can you both leave? I would like to sleep."

"Yes. Sorry for troubling you." Daiyousei said with a bow.

"But he's the bad guy! He has a penis and everything! I saw it!" Cirno said.

"W-What? Why would you show her that?" Daiyousei asked.

"I didn't!" Max said.

"I need to beat him here and now, for only the strongest fairy can!" Cirno said.

" Um, sir? Are you really Max?" Daiyousei asked.

"Yup. That's my name." Max said as he reached behind him then pulled Cirno off of him, setting her down next to Daiyousei. "Now if you may. Leave."

"I'm not leaving until you lie frozen at my feet." Cirno said with a grin while pulling out a spell card, but before she could call out her attack, Max grabbed the card, wrinkled it up then ate it. "Hey!" She cried out. "That's not how you duel!"

"Fuck off. I fight to kill. Now get out of here before you really piss me off." Max said as he sat down on the bed.

"Come on, Cirno. If what the tengu said is true, then he isn't someone to mess with carelessly." Daiyousei said.

"Smart girl." Max said. "Wait… What's a tengu?"

"That would be the youkai on Youkai Mountain. Everyone knows that." Cirno said.

"Youkai Mountain?" Max asked.

"Yes. The one right near here." Daiyousei said.

Max smacked his forehead. "THAT mountain. I totally forgot about it." He said then got up and headed for the door.

"Hey! Don't run from me!" Cirno exclaimed then latched onto Max's back.

"W-Wait for me!" Daiyousei said.

Max ran down to the first floor and headed for the front doors with a fairy on his back and another trying to keep up with him. The fairy maids looked on with envy.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" Remilia asked as she entered the hallway from the dining room with Flandre and Patchouli by her sides.

"I'm going sightseeing." Max said without stopping. As he passed Remilia, she grabbed a hold of Cirno who held onto him, forcing him to a stop.

"With two fairies? I find that highly suspicious." Remilia said.

"What kind of guy do you take me fore?" Max asked.

"I am sorry to be the bringer of ill news but…" Sakuya said as she entered the mansion through the front doors.

"Ayayayaya." Aya said as she entered the mansion. "I came here looking for the shrine maiden, but instead I find the man of the month."

Max looked at Aya then spotted her wings. "Oh god… Tell me she isn't nuclear prone…" He said.

"Only when she's on her period." Patchouli said.

"Hey hey! I am always my professional self even during my periods." Aya said proudly.

"Well I'm outta here." Max said then went to leave the mansion, only for Aya to grab his arm.

"Hold it there, big guy." Aya said. "A few pictures and some questions please, because you have become the enemy of the tengus and the gods of Youkai Mountains!" She happily announced. Max stared at her for a moment before pulling his arm away. He then quickly lifted Aya's skirt up then slapped her butt. "Ouch!" She cried out.

"Don't grab me like that." Max said as he went to leave.

"Hold it, Max." Remilia said then faced Aya. "Why do they see him as their enemy? Surely they aren't obeying the gap youkai's command?"

"Nope. Not at all. Just recently there was an attack on the shrine at the top of the mountain. The gods who live there were driven out, forcing them to flee to our village. A large group of humans fielding weapons from the outside world and… strange magic followed and attacked the village. Thankfully we were able to beat them back with no loses, but many were heavily injured. So now they simply assume tall, dark and handsome here is somehow involved."

"I see…" Remilia said as she started to think to herself.

"The gods of that shrine were beaten so easily? You think with those two and their shrine maiden they could of put up a better fight against a bunch of humans." Patchouli said.

"It wasn't just humans…" Aya said as her happy expression turned gloomy. "They also had these… things… I don't know what they were, but they were…" She said as she tried to figure out how to describe what she saw.

"We get what you are saying." Remilia said. "It looks like the time for rest has already ended. Sakuya, get Meiling. We are going to Youkai Mountain."

"Yes, mistress." Sakuya said then exited the mansion.

"Yay!" Flandre exclaimed.

"Not you." Remilia said.

"What? Why not?" Flandre pouted.

"I have already told you." Remilia said then turned to Patchouli. "You already know what I need of you."

Patchouli nodded. "Let's go, Flan." She said.

"This sucks…" Flandre moped as she and Patchouli left for the library.

"Ayayayaya. I came looking for Reimu for help, but I guess you guys will have to do." Aya said.

"Speaking of Reimu. Has anyone seen her or the gap youkai?" Remilia asked.

"Nope. I went to the gap youkai's house first. The only one there was her shikigami's shikigami and she said she hadn't seen them in a while." Aya said.

"Well let's just hope the gap youkai stays where ever she is just a bit longer." Remilia said.

"Why's that? Afraid she'll take your man here away?" Aya said mischievously.

"Would you like to continue being a reporter or would you like me to just end you now?" Remilia asked.

Aya faked a small laugh. "I think I'll stick with being a reporter."

"Ah, good." Remilia said upon seeing Sakuya and Meiling returning from outside. "Let us not waste any more time here."

"Better idea." Max said. "How about I just go and wrap things up. I'll be back before nightfall."

"No. Those humans might be in service of the one in yellow. We need to dispose of them as quickly as possible before they can do whatever it is they came here to do." Remilia said.

"Whatever." Max said.

"I'm going with you! You need the strongest fairy to watch your back!" Cirno said while still holding onto Max's back, but was then pulled down by Remilia.

"I have a more important job for you." Remilia said.

"You do? What is it?" Cirno asked then listened closely.

"Since Sakuya is going with us, I need someone who I can rely on to watch over and protect my little sister. Can you do that for me?" Remilia said with pleading eyes.

"O-Of course! You can count on me!" Cirno exclaimed while giving Remilia a thumbs up. "Let's go Daiyousei!" She said as she grabbed Daiyousei's hand then rushed to the library.

"W-W-Wait!" Daiyousei exclaimed as she was dragged off by Cirno.

Remilia sighed in relief. "Now that we got rid of the fairies we can leave now." She said. "Now Max. Don't say anything unnecessary when we get there. The tengu and I will explain that you had nothing to do with those other humans. We cannot afford to be fighting when the enemy is right at our door step."

"Whatever." Max said.

"Yeah, the Chief is an understanding guy. He would just like to hear your side of the story and you'll be fine." Aya said. She then wrapped one of her arms around Max. "I also have a friend who could really use some male help if you know what I mean." She whispered.

"Is she attractive?" Max whispered.

"She's almost as cute as me." Aya whispered.

"Is she grown up here?" Max whispered while patting his chest. Aya simply smiled and nodded.

Max grinned. "Sounds like a winner to me."

"You're a pig." Sakuya said.

"Excuse me for being a guy. You should get bent yourself." Max said.

Sakuya clenched her teeth as she resisted the urge to hurt Max while Meiling kept herself from laughing out loud.

"Alright. If you all are done, can we please leave?" Remilia said.

"Okay. Follow me!" Aya said.

Max, Remilia, Sakuya, Meiling and Aya left the mansion then took to the air. They flew towards Youkai Mountain just beyond the mist of the lake. The blackness in the sky seemed to originate outward from right above the mountain as it crawled across the sky.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Captured

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Max, Remilia, Sakuya, Meiling and Aya all made their way to the greatest mountain in Gensokyo, Youkai Mountain. The cold winds tried in vain to push them back and the blackness in the sky seemed to seep across the sky faster than usual.

"Do you mind?" Sakuya asked of Max who was hanging off of her.

Max let out a long yawn. "I didn't get a chance to take a nap. Just do your job and serve as my transportation."

"I do not serve you!" Sakuya exclaimed. Suddenly, Meiling too latched herself onto her. "Um… What do you think you are doing, Meiling?"

"It looked like fun so…" Meiling said.

"Get off!" Sakuya yelled as she pushed both Max and Meiling off of her.

"Heads up. We're almost there." Aya said.

The group landed at the base of the mountain where a group of white wolf tengu was stationed. One of the tengu noticed the approaching group then signaled for their attention.

"Hey! Aya!" The wolf tengu called out. She wore a white, long sleeved shirt and a large black skirt. Her hair was short and white and she had the ears and tail of a wolf. She carried a scimitar-like sword and a white, round shield with a red maple leaf on it.

"Momiji! Thought you would be sticking closer to the village. What brings you out here?" Aya said cheerfully.

"I was tasked with searching for any stragglers that retreated after their recent attack." Momiji said.

"Eh? They attacked again?" Aya asked.

"Indeed they did, but this time we had reinforcements from around Gensokyo. Even with their unnatural magic and monsters, they didn't stand a chance." Momiji said triumphantly.

"Well looks like you girls wasted your time in coming here. My as well go home, but I think I'll chill around here and marvel at nature." Max said.

"Is that…?" Momiji said as she stood her ground.

"Yup! This would be Max." Aya declared. "This would be my friend." She whispered to Max.

"I should have known there would have been people with dog ears in this place. This place can't get any weirder." Max said.

"They're wolf ears!" Momiji protested. "And aren't you the one commanding those humans from the outside world?"

"No. He has no connection with the humans who attacked your village what so ever." Remilia said.

"Are you sure about that? This could be a trick." Momiji said as she looked over at Max with suspicion.

"Oh no! She's on to me!" Max exclaimed. He then grabbed a hold of Sakuya then pulled her close to him. "Any quick movements from any of you and the bitch gets it."

Meiling then grabbed a hold of one of Sakuya's arms and tried to pull her away from Max. "Stop touching my Sakuya!" She commanded.

"Will you both stop it?" Sakuya demanded as she shoved Max and Meiling away.

"Isn't he playful? You should find out how 'playful' he can be." Aya whispered to Momiji while nudging at her shoulder.

"Don't mess with me!" Momiji exclaimed while blushing a little.

"Anyways… May you lead us to your village?" Remilia asked of Momiji.

"Why? Sounds like they got everything under control here." Max said.

"There is something here. I can feel it." Remilia said as she gazed up at the mountain.

"I can, but he's going to have to see the Chief when we get there." Momiji said.

"That won't be a problem." Remilia said.

"Who said I'm going?" Max asked. "I'm just going to-" Remilia suddenly grabbed a hold of Max's hand as he tried to walk away.

"You're going." Remilia insisted.

Max sighed. "Whatever…"

"Alright. Stay close to me." Momiji said then lead them up the mountain.

Max looked around in surprise as he and the rest of the group entered the Tengu Village. The village was larger and more advanced looking than what he expected. The tengu of the village danced around and drank in celebration for their recent victory with only a few stopping to study him as he walked by.

"This looks nothing like that other village." Max said as he observed his surroundings.

"Of course not. Our village has been around much longer than the Human Village." Momiji said.

"Also thanks to the kappa." Aya added.

"Kappa?" Max said.

"They live at the base of the mountain. They have some fancy stuff there. Then again you are from the outside world and probably have seen more sophisticated stuff." Aya said.

"That is where the Chief resides." Momiji said while pointing at the tallest building in the entire village. "Mind your manners when before the Chief."

Two tengu opened the doors to the building for the group. The group entered a large hall and in the center sat the chief of the tengu, Lord Tenma. A tengu was tending to a wound she had on one of her shoulders. She shooed the tengu away then gestured the group to step forward.

"Ah, Momiji. Back from the hunt so soon?" Tenma asked.

"Yes, Lord Tenma. We found a number of the stragglers and disposed of them as commanded." Momiji said.

"Good. Good. I see you brought some visitors and…" Tenma said then took notice of the sole male of the group. "A captive?"

"Actually, Lord Tenma, this boy here would be- Kya!" Momiji tried to say before having her tail pulled. She turned around and glared angrily at the group behind her, whom all were pointing at Max.

"Oh come on. It was just asking to be pulled wagging like that." Max said.

Tenma laughed. "Is this the young man from the outside world that has the Youkai of Boundaries all scared?"

"I guess." Max said.

"Step closer so I can have a better look at you." Tenma said.

Momiji pushed Max closer. "Hey, hey! I can walk myself." He said.

Tenma looked Max over for a moment before speaking. "Heh. So this is the greatest threat Gensokyo has had in a long time? It isn't every day that the Youkai of Boundaries gets worked up over something like this and I do sense something dark within you so I cannot overlook the potential danger that you pose, but…" She said then stood up and walked up to Max. "I think that if I were to do something rash, there wouldn't be much left of my village afterwards now would there?" She asked with a dark smile.

"Smart woman." Max said, giving a dark smile in return.

"Now tell me… Are you here to cause trouble in my village, boy?" Tenma asked.

"Nah. Well… That depends on what you mean by 'trouble'." Max said before reaching behind him and grabbing Momiji's stomach, causing her to blush and smack his hand away.

"Ha ha! You're a spunky kid now aren't you?" Tenma said while roughly patting Max's shoulders. "Well if you aren't with those foolish humans from before and won't cause me trouble, you can stick around my village, but I will be keeping my eye on you, you hear?"

"Gotcha." Max confirmed.

"I am surprised you tengu were able to fight those humans and their summoned monsters without sustaining much damage to the village." Remilia said.

"Well this isn't the first time we were confronted with an enemy with outside weaponry and we did have the help of our goddess and some others from outside the village. It was their alien magic and their…" Tenma said then shivered a little. "Alien monsters that caused us problems. Let's just say they caused the village more mental damage then physical."

"Goddess? Seriously?" Max said.

"Yes. Lady Kanako, who you should introduce yourself to by the way." Tenma said. "I had insisted that she stay to celebrate our victory before returning to reclaim her shrine so she should still be around."

"Wait a damn minute. You mean she's an actual person?" Max asked while looking a little dumbfounded.

"Well of course. Why wouldn't she be?" Tenma said.

"I think we should be on our way. Thank you for seeing us." Remilia said politely.

"Of course." Tenma said. "Momiji."

"Yes, Lord Tenma?" Momiji said.

"I want you to be this young man's escort. Make sure he see's Lady Kanako and keep an eye on him." Tenma commanded.

"No need. I already got a mother to hound me." Max said as he glared at Remilia, who glared back.

"Sorry, young man, but I did say I will be keeping my eye on you while you are here in my village." Tenma said.

"Just deal with it." Momiji said to Max.

"Okay, ma!" Max exclaimed happily.

"Do not call me that…" Momiji said.

"Let us go find that goddess then." Remilia said, earning a nod from Momiji.

"Stay out of trouble and enjoy yourselves during your stay." Tenma said before the group left.

The group led by Momiji walked down one of the busy streets of the village where tengu were running around with sake and some tumbling to the ground in their drunken state.

"Now how do we find Miss Kanako?" Sakuya asked.

"Go to where there is the most booze." Aya said.

"Well let's find this so called goddess quick so I can leave." Max said.

"You are not leaving until we find whoever was commanding those humans." Remilia said.

"Do it yourself then. You don't need me to solve every problem involving things from beyond. These tengu or whatever seemed to have handled it pretty well. I mean look at them now." Max said as he pointed at the many drunk tengu wondering around.

"The sake is mostly to help them forget what they saw…" Momiji said.

"To help them cope with the experience or not, you all shouldn't be so quick in celebrating your victory when more of those horrors may still lurk out there." Remilia said.

"Perhaps, but what can you do?" Aya said.

Max sighed. "_I need to lose these girls so I can look for the freaky voice person. No need to get them involved in this."_ He thought.

"There he is!" A girl shouted.

"Huh?" Max said.

A girl wearing a hat with a peach in it ran up to Max. "I've finally found you! You've got a lot of guts to show yourself here after the harm you caused these people." Tenshi said.

"Who the fuck are you?" Max asked.

"What? You ran away from me like a coward down in the Underground, remember?" Tenshi said as she became flustered.

"Nope. Don't remember running from anyone, but I do remember effortlessly beating some dumbass girl who ended up pissing herself after seeing a horror for the first time." Max said.

"I didn't piss myself! And that thing simply caught me off guard that's all!" Tenshi shouted then pulled out a spell card. "Now we will finish what we started!"

"Tenshi." Iku said as she walked out of one of the nearby taverns, startling Tenshi.

"Eh?" Tenshi said as she slowly turned around.

"What did I say about starting fights while in this village?" Iku said with an angry look.

"But it's the enemy!" Tenshi protested.

Electricity danced around Iku, causing Tenshi to flinch. "Perhaps he is, but we are all guests here, so do not provoke any fights."

"Fine!" Tenshi exclaimed. She then walked over to a nearby tengu, snatched his cup of sake, gulped it down then letting out a sigh, then pointed at Max. "I'll remember this!" She said then stormed off into one of the many taverns.

Iku sighed. "Sorry about that. The child can be a real hand full sometimes." Iku said to Max.

"No problem." Max said. Iku bowed then went to chase after Tenshi.

"So you managed to woo some girls from Heaven, eh?" Aya said as she nudged at Max's elbow.

"What part of that makes you think I 'wooed' them- Umph!" Max tried to ask, but suddenly found himself being hugged by someone small. He looked down at the small person, taking notice of the two horns coming out of her head. She had long, brown hair and wore a torn, pink blouse and a long, purple and pink skirt. She also wore chains on her wrists.

The girl looked up at Max, revealing her brown eyes and flushed face. "Hi!" The girl said.

"My god, you smell like you just swam in alcohol." Max said as he tried to push the girl off of him.

"She probably did…" Remilia said.

"Ah! Well isn't it the Tiny Pandemonium? What brings an oni like you here, Suika?" Aya asked.

"An oni?" Max said.

Suika hiccupped. "That's right, I'm a cute oni." She said before putting the gourd she was carrying to her lips then taking a big gulp. "That black stuff makes everything up there all dark and stuff." She said while pointing to the sky.

"Must be chaos up there." Sakuya said.

"Yup!" Suika said happily then took another drink from her gourd. "So you're little Maxi, huh? Yuugi told me all about you." She said as she squeezed tightly around Max's waist and her legs weakened.

"_Strong little bastard…" _Max thought as he struggled to undo Suika's grip. "Wait. Did you say Yuugi?"

"She sure did!" Yuugi said as she appeared, hugging Max from behind and lifting him and Suika up.

"Guh! You're… crushing me…!" Max said as the air in his lungs was squeezed out of him.

"See , Max? You made a bunch of friends without even realizing it." Remilia said as she tried to resist a chuckle.

"Fantastic…" Max said unenthusiastically.

"I'm so sorry about before, Max! But you should have been here… I thrashed many of those freaks for making me look weak before!" Yuugi exclaimed.

"I'm so happy for you… but can you let me go now?" Max asked.

"Nope! You need to join us in this time of celebration!" Yuugi said.

"Um… Maybe some other time." Max said.

"Suika? Gourd." Yuugi said.

"Roger!" Suika exclaimed as she handed Yuugi her gourd.

"Wait! No!" Max shouted before having the mouth of the gourd shoved into his mouth.

"I already know that you need a little persuading to get you to start drink'n." Yuugi said.

"You call that persuading…?" Sakuya asked.

Yuugi removed the gourd from Max's mouth after a large amount of sake spilled all over him. He coughed hard as he tried to catch his breath. "You… trying to kill me or something…?" Max shouted.

"Enough of that. This isn't the time to be drinking." Remilia said.

Suika took the gourd from Yuugi, took a gulp then spat the sake at Remilia, hitting her in the face. She and Yuugi burst out laughing while everyone else's jaw dropped.

"Wow… That's dickish even for me." Max said.

Sakuya pulled out some knives, only to be stopped by Remilia who then calmly wiped her face off. Remilia calmly walked up to Suika then snatched her gourd away from her.

"Hey! Who said you could have some, tiny vampire?" Suika yelled.

"Sakuya…" Remilia said.

"Yes, mistress?" Sakuya said.

"Hide it where she won't be able to find it." Remilia ordered.

"Yes, mistress." Sakuya said as she took the gourd. She quickly vanished then just as quickly reappeared, but without the gourd in hand.

"Hey! What did you do with my sake?" Suika shouted angrily.

"I wonder." Sakuya said with a smile.

"Worry about that later, little oni. This just means we get to drink all the sake here." Yuugi said.

"But… my gourd…" Suika whimpered.

"Onward!" Yuugi shouted then ran into one of the taverns with Max in hand and Suika still dangling off of him.

"Hey! Leave him here!" Remilia yelled as she and the rest of the group chased after them.

With the rest of the group right behind her, Yuugi ran through the doors of the tavern, knocking some tengu to the floor who tried to leave, then held Max up into the air. "Behold! I have brought thee!" Yuugi declared. The entire tavern full of people turned to see the raised Max in drunken astonishment.

"This ain't The Lion King…" Max said.

"Max you crazy son of a bitch you, ze!" Marisa said as she stood on one of the tables with a bottle of sake in one hand. She took a drink of the sake before continuing to speak. "We had been waiting for you forever and ever! Where the hell were you?"

Max broke out of Yuugi's hold then kicked Suika off of him. "Well you know… Here, there…" He said.

"I see, I see, ze!" Marisa said before drinking more from her bottle then letting out a big sigh. "I was just telling this bitch here know how quick you could beat her divine ass."

"Who?" Max said while raising an eyebrow.

"My, my, my." A woman said as she rose from her seat. She had puffy blue hair and dark red eyes and wore an elaborate red shirt with long white sleeves with a round mirror over the center of her chest and a long black skirt with a red flower print hem. "I was sure that Aya had exaggerated the attractiveness of this young man, but it would seem that I was wrong." She said as she walked up to Max.

"And you are?" Max asked.

"I am Kanako Yasaka, Goddess of Gensokyo." Kanako said.

"Not of Gensokyo." A short girl said as she got up from her seat. She had medium length blond hair and grey eyes and wore a short purplish-blue dress with a frog print design, large white sleeves and a white collar. She also wore white knee socks, black shoes and a light brown wide-brimmed hat with two frog eyes on the top.

"Hush now, Suwako." Kanako said then turned back to Max. "As this lands Goddess, I will listen to anything you need to say. Put your faith in me and I will lift any pains you have off of you." She said as she embraced Max.

"Uh, yeah… Sure…" Max said as he tried to push his face away from Kanako's breasts.

"Sorry to rain on your party, Kanako, but he's a bit too young for you." Suwako said.

"I said hush." Kanako said.

Max pushed out of Kanako's embrace then walked up to Suwako. "Hmm?" Suwako said as Max stared down at her.

Max stared down into the eyes on Suwako's hat with curiosity. "_Such a weird ass hat…" _He thought as the eyes stared back at him. The hat suddenly winked at him, causing him to jump back a little. "The fuck…" He said under his breath.

"Oh! I got an idea!" Kanako exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Max. "Suwako, go get Sanae and tell her we have a cute boy from the outside world. That'll cheer her up."

"Yeah, yeah." Suwako said as she left the tavern.

"Why?" What's wrong with the wind priestess?" Aya asked.

"The battle against those terrible creatures was too much for the poor dear. She just couldn't handle the encounters like I could." Kanako said

"I remember you screaming right alongside your priestess, ze." Marisa said.

"I just didn't want her to think she was the only one scared." Kanako said.

"She wasn't…" Marisa said.

"Is that him? It must be him!" A girl with black feathered wings said as she entered the tavern then rushed for Max, tackling him to the ground.

"Ah! Okuu wait!" Orin said as she entered the tavern.

"Ouch…" Max said as he laid on the floor with Utsuho knelt over him. "Oh… It's you… and you reek of alcohol."

Utsuho's face was flushed as she gazed into Max's eyes. "I was told that I did mean things to you when I was sleeping. I came up from The Underground to apologize." She said as she caressed Max's cheek. "Please tell me how I can apologize." She said as she pressed her body up against Max's.

"I totally wouldn't mind this situation if there wasn't five hundred people watching us." Max said nervously.

"Okuu! What do you think you're doing?" Orin exclaimed.

"No less then what you tried to do!" Yuugi shouted from the other side of the bar.

"Eh? I did no such thing!" Orin cried out.

"Get off of him!" Remilia shouted as she kicked Utsuho off of Max.

"Ow! Why are you so mean?" Utsuho cried out as she rolled around on the floor.

"She's completely trashed…" Aya said.

"Um… Lady Remilia? Can we… um…" Meiling said as she fidgeted, looking around at everyone drinking and having fun.

Remilia sighed. "Only a little. After this we need to get going." She said.

"Yay!" Meiling shouted happily then ran over to the bar.

"I will keep an eye on her…" Sakuya said as she followed Meiling.

"I'll go get us some bottles. You want some Momiji?" Aya asked.

"No. I am still on duty." Momiji said.

"Max! Get your ass over here!" Yuugi yelled from the other side of the tavern.

"How about you and me have a few drinks together, miss vampire?" Kanako said to Remilia. "I don't think I have had the chance to have a nice chat with you over some sake."

"Well…" Remilia said as she pondered to herself. "Well why not. A bottle won't hurt."

"Great!" Kanako said excitedly. She then noticed Suwako's return with another girl with long, green hair who wore a blue and white shrine maiden outfit. "Oh! Sanae! Come here my dear!" She called out.

"Miss Kanako. What was it that you needed?" Sanae asked with a lifeless voice.

"I wanted you to meet someone." Kanako said then grabbed Max. "This here is Max. He's from the outside world."

Sanae's face quickly filled with life after hearing Kanako's words then ran up to Max. "Ah! You're from the outside too? So am I!" She said excitedly. "You don't look like you're from Asia. Europe perhaps? Or maybe America?"

"I'm originally from Chechnya then ended up living in the States." Max said.

"Ah, Russia! Say something in Russian for me." Sanae pleaded.

"No." Max said bluntly.

"Aww…" Sanae said in disappointment.

"Let's sit down with some drinks before continuing shall we?" Kanako said.

"I'll go get the drinks!" Sanae said excitedly.

"Yes, let's." Remilia said.

"I had enough to drink just a few moments ago." Max said.

"You wanted to relax so now is your chance." Remilia said.

"Yeah in a bed. Not in a bar." Max said.

"I'll go to bed with you!" Utsuho exclaimed as she hugged Max from behind. "I can keep you warm with the power Lady Kanako gave me." She said as she rubbed Max's chest.

"Sorry!" Orin said as she pulled the drunken Utsuho away.

"This is no time to be sleep'n!" Yuugi shouted while swinging a bottle of sake around. "Let me tell you all about the first time I drank with Max."

"Oh jeezus…" Max said.

"Down in The Underground, when me and Orin finally got him drink'n, Orin tried to-"

"Yuugi! What are you telling them?" Orin shouted, interrupting Yuugi.

"Just telling them about the fun time we had drinking with Max here." Yuugi said. She then noticed Max was gone. "Eh? Where'd he go?" The group looked around the tavern, but not spotting Max. "Ah! He got away! Reporter tengu!"

"Eh?" Aya said as she returned with a handful of bottles.

"I heard you were the fastest around. Go find him and drag him back here." Yuugi commanded.

"She isn't the fastest here, ze!" Marisa yelled while nearly tripping over a seat.

Aya sat the bottles down on the table then gave Marisa the middle finger. "You wanna bet?" She said.

"You bitch!" Marisa yelled as she grabbed her broom. Aya and Marisa both took off out of the tavern with great speed.

"Oh my. Guess we'll have to start without them." Kanako said. Remilia sighed then took a sip from one of the bottles.

After running down a few streets of the village, Max stood panting as he tried to catch his breath.

"Finally…" Max said.

"Hey!" Momiji cried out as she caught up to Max.

"Damn it…" Max mumbled. "The hell do you want? A dog treat or something?" He said.

"Very funny. I have orders to watch you. So don't go running off without telling me." Momiji said.

"I'll let you know the next time I need to piss so you can be there to hold my hand." Max said, earning an angry huff from Momiji. He then sighed. "Well anyways… Any where I can go to relax alone?"

"We do have rooms for guests that you can stay in." Momiji said.

"That'll do." Max said.

Momiji and Max made their way down the lively streets of the village. More and more tengu could be seen passed out alongside buildings as they continued to drink themselves to sleep. Momiji lead Max into a large building that resembled an inn that was a bit further from all the partying.

"You can rest here." Momiji said as she stopped in front of the door to one of the rooms. "I will remain out here while you rest."

"Good dog." Max said as he patted Momiji's head who huffed angrily at him in return. He closed the door behind him as he entered the room then jumped into the bed. He yawned loudly then closed his eyes. "_Well I ditched most of them. I'll just lose this one and be on my way. They said something about a shrine on top of the mountain. Guess I'll check that place out for the freaky voice person. But first..." _He thought then let out another yawn. _I'ma take a quick snooze." _After only a few minutes, he was asleep, but was quickly awakened by the sound of the door opening. "The fuck…" Max said angrily as he sat up.

"Ah, there you are, Max." Remilia said as she entered the room.

"I was hoping it would have taken you a bit longer to find me." Max said.

"I think I know enough about you to tell that sleep wasn't the only thing that was on your mind."

"You don't know-"

"Jack shit. But I think I do." Remilia said, interrupting Max. She walked over to the side of the bed then sat down. "Who is it that you are looking for? And is he on this mountain?" She asked.

"I ain't looking for anyone."

"Just answer the question."

Max sighed. "It's not who you think it is." He said.

"I hope not. This would be the worst time for him to show up."

"I told you before, if he was here, you'd know it."

"I see… If it isn't him, then what is this dark presence I am feeling?"

"How should I know?"

"Hmm… Perhaps it is just the left over magic those humans used against the village I am feeling…" Remilia said then thought to herself. Max laid back down, but quickly sat back up once she spoke again. "About the yellow one… Do you think we could beat him as we are now?" She asked.

"Look, Remilia, about that guy… He-"

"Don't tell me." Remilia said, interrupting Max. "I don't need to know anything more than that he needs to be defeated. I don't care about anything else. Him being just a man… or a god… matters not to me. Just tell me if you think he can be beaten."

"I don't know. I just don't know anymore."

"I see…" Remilia said. "Could we get to wherever his is? We could fight him before he even steps foot in Gensokyo."

"We could, but getting there wouldn't be easy. You already know how awesome I am at creating portals to places."

"If only we could convince Yukari that you are not the threat then she could help you with that." Remilia said then sighed. "Oh well… Can't worry about that right now."

"Can you leave now so I can sleep?" Max asked.

"Yes, but before I do," Remilia suddenly got on all fours then slowly made her way towards Max. "Maybe you could spare some of your blood? As you well know, I am a vampire."

"What? Hell no. You got a maid. Bite her."

"Yes, but it isn't healthy for me to drink from the same person over and over again."

"_She lies…" _Max thought.

"And your blood was so tasty the last time I drank it. I want more of it." Remilia said as she crawled over Max's legs.

"Yeah and last time you saw a bunch of shit you shouldn't have seen." Max said as he leaned back nervously away from Remilia.

"If you just relax this time, I won't see anything else."

"Will you leave so I can finally get some rest if I let you?" Max said. Remilia smiled then nodded. "Jeezus Christ…" Max mumbled. "Alright fine, but only a little. I swear to god if I start to feel light headed I'm breaking your teeth." He said.

"Thank you!" Remilia said happily. "Now, off with the shirt."

"What?"

"You heard me. Off with the shirt."

"Don't you vampires just bite the person's neck or did I assume too much?"

"Of course. It's just that I tend to spill blood when I drink from someone so I don't want to get that shirt all messy if it can be helped."

"Speaking of these clothe. Who did these belong to?" Max asked, making Remilia blush.

"W-What does that matter?" Remilia asked.

"From what I saw, there wasn't a single guy at your mansion. So who did these belong to before?"

"That doesn't matter, now off with the shirt."

"I wanna know."

"Off with the shirt!" Remilia shouted as she reached out for Max's shirt.

Momiji, who was still standing guard outside the door, gulped as she pressed her ear up against the door, listening to whatever was going on on the other side of the door.

"Alright, alright!" Max said. He then unbuttoned the shirt then pulled it off. Remilia's cheeks reddened as she stared at Max's toned body. "Just hurry up." He said then turned his red face away from Remilia's.

Remilia nodded then crawled up to Max. He started to shake nervously as she slowly sat down on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his back, embracing him. "Just relax." She cooed in Max's ear, making his heart beat faster than it already was.

Max tried in vain to think about something other than the girl who was caressing his back and breathing down his neck. His heart betrayed him as it beat louder and louder to the point where Remilia could hear it. She grinned to the sound of his beating heart then slightly licked his neck, sending a shiver up his spine.

"_Is this really necessary…?" _Max thought.

Though wanting to continue to tease Max, Remilia's thirst for his blood got the best of her. She opened her mouth with her fangs protruding outwards then slowly bit down into Max's neck. He winced in pain as she slowly buried her fangs into him. Remilia took her time in drinking his blood, wanting to savor the taste as long as she could. After what felt like an eternity to Max, Remilia slowly pulled her teeth out of his neck. Blood spilled down from the bite marks then down his chest. Once the trail of blood reached his abs, she placed her tongue on them then slowly dragged her tongue up his body along the trail of blood. Max's face would have reddened more if it could have. Remilia kissed his neck to clean up what blood was left. She then licked his cheek.

"Hey, hey!" Max exclaimed nervously. "You didn't get any blood on my face.

"Oh? Your face is so red it looked like you had blood on it. My mistake." Remilia said with a mischievous smile.

"Alrighty then… If you are done… could you kindly let me sleep…?" Max said still red faced. He went to put his shirt back on, but was stopped by Remilia.

"Leave that off." Remilia said softly. Max's heart began to race as she slowly pushed him down to the bed.

"W-Wait a minute." Max said nervously.

"Hmm?" Remilia said as she sat up on top of Max then started to slowly pull her dress off of her shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I am doing?"

"Wait a minute. This is a bit sudden. I mean it wasn't too long ago that I tried to kill you, remember?"

"I remember, but sometimes my needs cannot wait to be satisfied."

"Wait, hold on. Is this right? I mean a human and a vampire?" Max quickly said.

"Well of course. Why wouldn't it be?" Remilia said as she casually pushed her dress down to her waist, exposing her small breasts.

"This is happening way too fast." Max said nervously as he tried not to look at the half naked girl. "We should think about this first."

Remilia looked down at Max curiously. She then leaned close to Max's face, smiling seductively. "Hey. Tell me…" She whispered. "Is this your first time with a girl?"

"Whether it is or isn't doesn't matter." Max said, averting his eye's from Remilia's alluring gaze. Remilia sat back up then laughed. "What? What's so funny?" Max said while trying to not look embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. It is just a surprise. Do you not know how to use those looks of yours? Or maybe that personality of yours offsets your attractiveness?" Remilia asked.

"You're a bitch you know that?" Max said.

"Am I?" Remilia asked.

"Yeah. You are." Max said as the nervousness in his voice disappeared. He sat up in the bed, bringing his face close to Remilia's. "I don't think I have ever crossed such a bossy bitch like you before."

"Oh? But what about that Kay girl?"

"Who?" Max said as he stared into Remilia's eyes.

"That is very mean, Max." Remilia said as she leaned forward, pressing her lips up against Max's. They embraced each other as their desires took over them, their heated bodies further heating the body of the other in a vicious, lustful cycle.

On the other side of the door of the bedroom, Momiji panted as her tail wagged quickly back and forth as she listened to the sounds of kissing and moans on the other side of the door.

Remilia breathed heavily as a little saliva dripped from her lips as Max parted from them. He then placed his lips on one of her breasts, kissing it while caressing the other, causing a small cry to leave her mouth.

"Ah! When did you become so bold?" Remilia asked as she hugged Max harder.

"Shut up." Max said.

"You were shivering like a little boy just a second ago." Remilia said.

"I said shut up." Max said. He then lifted Remilia up, laying her down on the bed.

"Oh? So you want to take charge? Do you even know what you are doing?" Remilia asked.

"Not a damn clue." Max said.

"Only one rule. On the outside. Not the inside." Remilia said as she poked Max's nose.

"Will do." Max said. He leaned forward and kissed Remilia.

They kissed more slowly in a more compassionate way than before. Max parted from her lips then lifted her lower body up to him, reaching up under her dress to reach for her panties. Just as he was doing this, he looked up away from Remilia, spotting a blond haired woman who somehow appeared, causing his jaw to drop. She wore a dark purple dress and a pink mob cap with a red ribbon on it. She casually leaned out of some sort of gap that floated in the air. The woman placed her index finger to her lips then gestured him to continue what he was doing.

"Hmm? What is it?" Remilia asked after taking notice of Max's shocked expression. She then tiled her head back. The redness in her face disappeared when she saw the woman. "Yukari…" She murmured.

Max jumped backwards away from Remilia. "She's older than me I swear to god!" He shouted as he quickly put his shirt back on. Remilia sat up in the bed then pulled her dress back up onto her shoulders.

"Oh, you two didn't need to stop. I can wait." Yukari said with a smile.

"I knew you would show up sooner rather than later and of course it is at the wrong time as always." Remilia said as she regained her composure.

"I am sorry for interrupting your little moment. Should I come back another time?" Yukari asked.

"Yes!" Max exclaimed.

"You are already here, so why leave?" Remilia asked.

"Aww…" Max pouted.

"I will assume you are here for Max. I am surprised it took you this long to find him. Is Reimu with you as well?" Remilia said.

"I had to deal with some troubling pests thanks to a certain young man." Yukari said as she looked over to Max. "And about my little shrine maiden, I had her go ahead and deal with whoever let those humans from the outside world in while I took care of the big fish."

"Oh yeah sure. Blame me." Max said.

"Who else could I blame? You are the lighthouse on the seashore to those things. The Hakurei Border merely dims the light you emit." Yukari said.

"He doesn't attract them purposely, Yukari." Remilia said.

"That does not matter. Anyone who carries the sign of that evil god cannot be allowed to live, rather or not they do so willingly." Yukari said.

"We need to worry about the man in yellow. He is the bigger threat and we need Max to help destroy him." Remilia said.

"If we get rid of this young man then we won't have to worry about him or any other thing from beyond." Yukari said.

"He is coming here rather or not Max is alive!" Remilia said with a raised and angered voice.

"You really are a blinded fool, Remilia Scarlet." Yukari said. "You put a lot of faith in this boy just because he has a little resemblance to your-"

"Do not speak of him, gap youkai." Remilia sneered, interrupting Yukari.

"Oh, my. Did I touch a nerve?" Yukari said with a small smirk. "Young man, Max was it? If you wish not to get this village involved, I ask that you come with me to a more secluded place." She said as she stepped out of her gap, gesturing Max to enter it.

"Go fuck yourself. No way am I going to enter someone else's portal." Max said.

"I am afraid you have no choice." Yukari said.

Suddenly, a gap opened right behind Max and from it, Ran jumped out and latched onto him. "The fuck?" Max exclaimed as he was pulled into the gap.

"Max!" Remilia shouted as the gap closed. She then turned to face Yukari, glaring at her with hatred. "Damn you, Yukari!" She shouted as she formed a red spear and went to slash Yukari, but missed when Yukari fell backwards into one of her gaps. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" She said furiously.

Momiji suddenly burst through the door. "What is going on in here?" She said. She watched with confusion as Remilia furiously punched the ground in anger repeatedly.

"What the hell was that…?" Max mumbled as he rose to his feet. "Where the fuck am I?" He said as he looked around him. Eyes floated aimlessly about in a swirling void, their stares fixated on him. He looked down at the invisible floor he stood on to see more eyes staring at him. He then looked up to see Yukari sitting on one of her gaps and Ran floating next to her.

"Welcome, Max." Yukari said, her voice echoing throughout the strange dimension. "Welcome, to my world."


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Doom

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"Where fuck am I?" Max yelled.

"I just told you. You're in my world." Yukari said.

"Who the hell are you? Tell me!" Max demanded angrily.

"Watch your tone, boy." Ran sneered.

"Now, now Ran." Yukari said calmly. "I am Yukari Yakumo and this here is my shikigami, Ran Yakumo."

"A shiki what? Is that another world for sex slave or something?" Max asked.

"Something like that." Yukari said.

"Lady Yukari…" Ran said while giving Yukari a disapproving look.

"I will cut straight to the point." Yukari said. "I cannot allow you to live in our world with that evil spirit's power."

"So you're going to kill me? Would like to see you try." Max said.

"I really do not want to kill such a handsome young man such as yourself, but you and I both know that the power in you can only lead to this world's doom. I have seen the same horrors you have and more in my life time. I could try pulling that power out of you and dispose of it separately if you would let me, but I am afraid you wouldn't survive the process regardless."

"I wouldn't let you. As much as I hate this power, I still need it for the time being."

"Don't tell me that foolish vampire has got you convinced that you could actually beat that spirit? She seems to think that the man in yellow and that evil god are separate entities, but you and I both know that isn't the case now is it? You cannot hope to defeat the very thing you draw your powers from."

"I'll fucking try, but first I'm going to beat your ass." Max said angrily as he cracked his knuckles.

"My, my. I seem to have upset you somehow." Yukari said.

"You cockblocked me!" Max yelled.

"Oh. I really am sorry about that." Yukari said with a smile.

"You will be once I am done with you. I'll beat your ass then take your sex slave for myself!" Max yelled.

"I am not a sex slave!" Ran exclaimed.

"That is fine with me, young man, but you are going to have to pull out all that dark power in you in order to bring me down." Yukari said.

"I god damn will. You fucked yourself when you brought me here. I have nothing to worry about in this pocket dimension of yours. I have nothing to hold me back." Max said.

"But can your body and mind handle the use of all that power? I don't think they can." Yukari said.

"Then let's find out." Max said as he formed a dark grin and a sword in each hand. His evil power surged around him in great intensity as blood ran down from his burning red eyes.

"Don't hold back, my dear!" Yukari said cheerfuly. She then turned to Ran. "There won't be any need to kill him ourselves. It would be best for him and us if we just let his own power destroy him. Stay on the defensive and keep a strong mind at all times."

"Yes, milady." Ran said.

Suddenly, Max was nowhere to be seen. A surprised Yukari and Ran kept their guard up as they searched around with their eyes for any signs of him.

"Behind." Yukari quickly warned.

Max appeared right behind Yukari and Ran then brought his two swords down upon them, just narrowly missing them as they quickly moved out of the way.

"Tch." Max said before vanishing again.

"My, my. It seems as if the boy has learned to use that spirit's power quite well." Yukari said as she smirked.

Max reappeared again then tried to slash Yukari with his swords, but was blocked by a barrier she had quickly formed in front of her, sending out sparks on contact. The barrier cracked, surprising her further. Ran went to slash his back, but he quickly vanished once again then reappeared behind her, slashing at her relentlessly with his swords. Ran retreated into a gap that opened behind her then jumped out another one that opened behind Max, slashing his back with her claws.

"Guh!" Max yelled out in pain. "Damn you!" He yelled as he swung one of his swords, sending out a wave of bloody fire at Ran and forcing her back.

Yukari opened more gaps around her once Ran moved away from Max. A horde of danmaku then poured out of the gaps and rained down upon him. Quickly noticing the storm of danmaku, Max took his swords then through them, sending them spinning through the air and towards Yukari. The spinning swords seemed to create two small twisters of red energy as they spiraled towards their target, smashing through the horde of danmaku. Yukari remained seated on one of her gaps as she casually watched the swords smash against her barrier. Max vanished then reappeared in front of her, sending out a powerful strike at her barrier, shattering it to pieces like glass.

"Oh my! You're so strong!" Yukari jested as she pretended to be scared.

Max moved in to attack Yukari, but was interrupted by Ran when she jumped out of a gap behind him then kicked him in the side. Enduring the pain, he grabbed a hold of Ran's leg then threw her towards Yukari, but she went flying into another gap then out another one behind him, kicking him in the back as she flew out. He was kicked towards Yukari who casually kicked him in the stomach, sending him back towards Ran and causing him to spit up blood. Ran formed a blue sphere of magic in her hands then threw it at the incoming Max, hitting him in the back and engulfing him in a small explosion and leaving him stunned. Yukari held up her hand at Max as he was sent back towards her.

"Border Sign: Quadruple Barrier." Yukari said.

Several overlapping boundaries that spun rapidly formed in front of Yukari. Max hit the spinning barriers, yelling out in pain as his body was torn to shreds. When the spell ended, Max's twisted body was shot backwards back to Ran who lifted one of her legs up in the air. Once he got in her range, Ran dropped her heel on his head, sending him plummeting to the ground below. Max let out a painful grunt as he hit the ground hard with a loud thump.

"Humph. What was that about beating Lady Yukari, boy?" Ran called out to Max as he laid on the ground, facing up at the two women who casually floated in the air.

"Oh, do not think he is done yet." Yukari warned.

"Eh?" Ran said.

"Look." Yukari said. Ran looked down closely at Max to see that he held a dark grin as he stared up back at them. "No amount of luck will end this fight quickly for us."

Meanwhile back in the Tengu Village, the streets and taverns remained lively as the residents continued to drink into the night. In one of the taverns, Kanako was sitting at one of the bars, drinking and talking with Suwako.

"So what do you think that vampire is doing to that poor boy right now?" Kanako asked while looking a bit concerned and hiccupping once she finished her sentence.

"Nothing." Suwako said before sipping at her cup of water.

"What? What do you mean nothing?" Kanako said with surprise. She then took a drink of her bottle of sake before speaking. "I think she is having her way with that defenseless boy right now." She said while clenching her fist. "Tearing his shirt off and putting that serpent tongue of hers all over his body."

"I doubt that." Suwako said. Kanako then suddenly got up out of her seat. "Eh? Where do you think you're going?"

"To find that young man. As his goddess, I cannot allow one of my most faithful be defiled by that devil." Kanako said as she prepared to leave the tavern.

"_She's drunk and jealous…" _Suwako thought.

Suddenly, an angry Remilia barged into the tavern with Momiji right behind her, stepping over a passed out Meiling and to the bar. She grabbed a bottle of sake from Sanae who sat sleeping at the bar with her head on the table then sat down.

"Speak of the devil." Kanako said. "What did you do to that poor boy? Have your way with him then toss him like garbage? You truly are the devil."

"_Just pass out already…" _Suwako thought.

"Ah! The little vampire is back!" Yuugi shouted as she got up from the floor. She sat down next to Remilia then spoke. "Couldn't find him, eh?" She asked, but got no answer from Remilia who simply drank her sake. "Oh come on! Don't leave me hanging."

"We were with Max, but the Youkai of Boundaries took him." Momiji said.

"What?" Kanako exclaimed. "That bitch. Taking that boy and keeping him to herself…" She said as she bit her lip.

"Damn it. Where did she take him?" Yuugi asked.

"To her dimension, I would assume." Suwako said.

"She isn't really going to kill him is she?" Yuugi said with a concerned look.

"I wouldn't worry about her killing him. I am sure he could beat her. No. He just might kill her." Remilia said.

"Then why the long face?" Yuugi asked.

"Even if he does manage to kill the youkai of gaps, even with that strange power of his, he wouldn't be able to get out of that strange dimension of hers." Suwako said, causing Remilia to angrily squeeze her bottle of sake. "He would be trapped in there forever."

"What? There's got to be a way for him to get out of there!" Yuugi insisted.

"If there is something that is as eldritch as that boy's power, it would be that gap youkai's power." Suwako said.

"Shit…" Yuugi said then waved the bartender for another bottle of sake.

"It is for the best in the end." Suwako said, earning an angry glare from Remilia and a surprised look from everyone else.

"What the hell does that mean?" Yuugi asked angrily.

"We can't just sit here and pretend that the boy's power is not a threat to Gensokyo, or the entire world for that matter." Suwako said.

"What do you know about it, Suwako?" Kanako asked.

"More than I would like to…" Suwako said with a gloomy expression. Remilia then got up out of her seat then walked up to her. Remilia swatted her hat off her head then punched her in the face, knocking her off her stool and to the floor, surprising everyone in the tavern.

"Suwako!" Kanako shouted.

"Lady Suwako!" Momiji shouted.

"You damn hypocritical god." Remilia said angrily. "You beg for faith but cannot afford to give a little in return?"

Suwako grabbed her hat then rose to her feet while not looking particularly angry. "You want me to leave the fate of our world in the hands of some random boy? You want me to have faith in your power, miss vampire? I expected Gensokyo's Scarlet Devil to be much wiser. The cosmic horrors out there do not care about fate. They can twist it to their own ends and there is nothing your power or that boy can do about it. I don't know what your relationship is with that young man, but you need to understand that you are not going to change his fate." She said then glared into Remilia's angry eyes. "He's doomed."

Remilia punched Suwako in the gut, forcing her to hunch over in pain. She then uppercutted Suwako, knocking her into the air. Suwako hit the ceiling then crashed back down onto a table, breaking it.

"Now that is too much! No one who hurts my little Suwako like that is spared my divine wrath." Kanako said angrily as she pulled out a spell card.

"Kanako, stop!" Suwako yelled.

"Eh? But why?" Kanako asked as she ran up to Suwako.

"I expected to get what I just got with my words so leave it be." Suwako said.

"Humph." Remilia said then walked away to the other side of the tavern.

"You can't expect me to just let this go do you?" Kanako asked.

"I said its fine. I said all that I needed to say and got the expected results." Suwako said as she struggled to her feet.

"Results?" Kanako asked.

"Miss Scarlet really does believe that young man is the key to saving Gensokyo from whatever cosmic horrors that threaten it. No doubts are present. Whether or not what she believes is right or wrong is a different question." Suwako said then sighed. "By the highest order of gods I hope she is right because not even they will be able to save us if she's wrong."

"Oh Suwako you!" Kanako said as she hugged Suwako. "You shouldn't say things that make people upset!" She said as she smothered Suwako in her breasts.

"Yeah, Kanako. I wish you'd heed your own advice…" Suwako said as she tried to break Kanako's grip. "Now let me go and get me some sake. I could use a drink now."

"Okay!" Kanako said cheerfully.

Back in the gap dimension, Max jumped to his feet then formed a sword in each of his hands. He flew towards Yukari and Ran who braced themselves. He then held his arms out then began to spin in circles, creating a large, dark red tornado around him. Yukari and Ran scattered as the swirling tornado made its way to them. Max stopped his spinning then flew towards Ran who then pulled out a spell card.

"Shikigami's Radiance: Charming Siege from All Sides!" Ran called out, sending out waves of large danmaku and strings of small danmaku.

Max paid no attention to the danmaku, but instead let them break apart against his dark power that danced around him. Ran clicked her tongue, angered at how easily he ran through her attack. She then raced towards him to meet him in hand to hand combat. Max went to crash into her, but she quickly dodged to the side. She attempted to slash his back as he passed by her, but she quickly retracted her arm as he quickly turned around while swinging one of his swords at her. Max swung his swords at her, but she managed to punch the side of one of them, smashing it to pieces. He tried slashing her with his other sword, but she broke that one as well. Max and Ran then engaged one another in hand to hand combat, throwing punches and kicks at one another without pause. Yukari remained seated on one of her gaps, choosing to watch the fight from afar and to study Max.

Ran formed a magic ball in her hand then threw it at Max, only to realize she had attacked an afterimage as it slowly vanished. Without having time to look around for the real Max, he appeared behind her. He went to strike her, but she quickly turned around and threw another magical ball, but once again hitting an afterimage. Suddenly a cut appeared on Ran's cheek.

"Eh?" Ran said as she felt the pain from the cut and the blood that trickled down her cheek.

Max suddenly appeared before Ran then threw out a punch at her. She quickly raised her arms in front of her and blocked the attack, but she felt the blow to her chest regardless. Ran spat up blood as she was knocked back from the blow, dazed and confused. Max gave her no time to recover and tried punching her again. She quickly jumped to the side, avoiding the blow, but she suddenly felt a blow to her side, snapping a couple of her ribs.

"Gah!" Ran cried out in pain as more blood flew out of her mouth.

Ran jumped backwards to try and create some space between her and Max, but he kept on her with his vicious strikes. Cuts both small and large began to appear all over her body as she continued to take hits from unseen sources. Her vision began to waver as she desperately tried to defend herself. Max landed a strike to her chest, breaking another rib and cracking her skin across her body. She yelped in pain as she was knocked backwards. She flew into a gap that opened up behind her, appearing next to Yukari.

"I said stay on the defensive." Yukari said.

"Yes, but-"

"But nothing. We will not be able to end this ourselves. His power needs to do it." Yukari said then looked over at the panting Ran. "Look at you. You are already drained of strength from being near that dark power. You even started to hallucinate."

"My apologies." Ran said.

"Just stay away from him to the best of your abili-" Yukari tried to say, but was suddenly struck by Max across the face, sending her flying off of her gap.

"Lady Yukari!" Ran screamed. She then glared furiously at Max then went to slash him, but her claws broke against his dark aura. "Eh?"

Max quickly grabbed a hold of Ran's throat, causing her to thrash wildly in his grip as she tried to break free. "It was you who pulled me in here wasn't it?" He asked of Ran. Suddenly, he was hit by a magic attack, forcing him to let Ran go who quickly flew back to Yukari's side.

"My, my. I didn't even sense you move at all. Seems like I have underestimated your ability to control that power." Yukari said as blood ran down from the corner of her lips.

"Yeah I know." Max said. "Now how about you let me out of here? I'll forget about you pissing me off if you do."

"Sorry, my dear, but I cannot allow that. The one whose dreaded name I wish I would forget will go wherever his sign is carried. That is why I brought you here. Even if you do kill me, you wouldn't be able to leave here. I and I alone can enter and leave this place." Yukari said.

Max's already angered expression turned into furry from Yukari's words. "What?" He yelled. "You are so dead. So fucking dead."

Yukari stretched her arms. "It has been so long since I have fought for my life. I think the last time would have been with that flower youkai." She said.

"Please be a little more concerned with your life, Lady Yukari." Ran pleaded.

"Do not worry, Ran. Like I said before, all we need to do is let that power destroy him before it destroys us." Yukari said.

"Whatever. Just die." Max said as he channeled his power into his hand then fired off a dark red beam of energy at Yukari and Ran. They both scattered into two different gaps to evade the attack. Two gaps opened up on both sides of him with Yukari and Ran jumping out of them. They both went to strike him, but to their surprise, they were suddenly caught in his psychic grasp. He grinned. "Didn't know I could do that did you?" He asked mockingly.

Yukari quickly broke out of Max's psychic grip then went to strike him, dodging Ran as she was thrown at her. She hit him in the gut then followed up with kneeing him in the chin, but without causing him to flinch. Max quickly countered with an uppercut. She dodged the blow, but was suddenly hit in the stomach by his afterimage, causing her to spit up blood. She quickly recovered then disappeared into a gap and appeared away from Max. She and Ran then pulled out a spell card.

"Bounded Field: Mesh of Light and Darkness." Yukari said.

"Shikigami's Radiance: Fox-Tanuki Youkai Laser!" Ran called out.

Max watched as a storm of lasers and danmaku came from all sides. A large amount of blood spheres formed around him then fired off in every direction. The attacks collided with one another in a great explosion. Using his unnatural speed, he instantly closed the distance between him and Ran, nearly landing a powerful blow before being blocked by one of Yukari's barriers. He smashed through the barrier then began throwing volleys of red burning globs at a retreating Ran as she returned fire with her danmaku while trying to keep a large distance between her and him. Not knowing she was now firing at an afterimage, Max appeared in front of Ran then went to cleave her with his sword, but Ran disappeared into a gap.

"Those fucking things…" Max said frustratingly. A gap opened in front of him, with a large blue laser firing out of it. He went to dodge, but was suddenly grabbed from behind by Ran. "Fuck you." He said before somehow moving out of her grip and through her. Ran screamed in pain as her arms, chest and back were shredded. A gap opened in front of her, swallowing the laser before it could hit her.

Ran went to retreat, but was blocked by Max. He formed a red glob then slammed it into her chest, increasing the size of the wounds that were already present and causing her to yelp in pain. Yukari jumped out of a gap then kicked Ran into another one. He formed a sword then swung it at Yukari, breaking it and the barrier she had quickly formed.

Yukari jumped back then pulled out a spell card. "Aerial Bait: Laced with Venom!" She called out.

Gaps opened up all around Max then fired lasers at him. He formed an invisible shield around him, but the lasers smashed through it, hitting him dead on. Yukari gave him no time to recover as she started to relentlessly pummel him with punches and kicks. She grabbed him by the head then started to strike his chest with her knee repeatedly, breaking his ribs then breaking them again as his power quickly healed them. He spat up blood all over her dress every time she hit him. She then dropped her fists down on his back, sending him crashing into the ground below.

Yukari took a moment to catch her breath. "You okay?" She called out cheerfully to Max.

Max got back up onto his feet then looked up at the youkai. "Will you just give up already?" He yelled

"Uh uh!" Yukari said while shaking her head.

"Fucking bitch. I'm tired of playing nice." Max said as his dark power began to further grow.

Ran appeared next to Yukari. "Are you okay, Lady Yukari?" She asked.

"Of course, but worry about yourself." Yukari said.

"His movements are strange. Half of my wounds I don't even understand how I received." Ran said as the slash marks on her body slowly healed.

"That is to be expected when fighting someone who wields the power of a cosmic horror." Yukari said. "Now prepare yourself. This will only get harder and harder until he finally breaks down."

Back in the tavern in the Tengu Village, Remilia and the others were listening to some stories.

"Yup. Then for some reason we ended up in the hot spring again." Yuugi said. "And that is when things really heated up. Orin over there pushed the poor kid down into the water then tried to mount him. I would have let her, but I didn't think Max would have liked being screwed while drowning, you know what I mean?"

"Ha ha! That's great." Mokou said who had just arrived a few moments ago. "He strung up some bug youkai from a tree who tried to pick a fight with him when I drank with him."

"Ha! Really?" Yuugi asked before finishing a bottle of sake then starting on another one.

"Yeah. He stripped her down naked then strung her up from a tree right outside the Human Village. The bug deserved it. Just suddenly appeared out of nowhere screaming about pay back or something." Mokou said.

"If only he was here… right… now…" Yuugi said before passing out. Her forehead landed on the table with her horn going through it.

"There goes another one." Mokou said.

"Guess I'll be taking back the shrine myself tonight." Suwako said as she poked a sleeping Kanako.

"Reimu was supposed to have taken care of everything up there." Remilia said.

"The other shrine maiden? Guess I'll be meeting her up there then." Suwako said.

Suddenly, Aya and Marisa returned carrying a severely beaten and unconscious Reimu.

"Reimu?" Remilia cried out as she ran towards her. Aya and Marisa laid her down on the floor. "What happened to her?"

"Don't know. We were racing around when Aya spotted her on the ground." Marisa said while looking upset.

"Who could have possibly beaten the shrine maiden up so badly?" Mokou asked.

"Didn't you say she had gone to our shrine?" Suwako asked of Remilia. Remilia didn't answer, but instead headed for the door. "Hey wait! I'm coming with you!" She cried out as she ran after Remilia.

"I'm going too. You two should take care of her." Mokou said.

"No way. I'm going to find out who did this to my friend, ze!" Marisa said. "Aya, you stay."

"Hell no. This could be the biggest scoop of all time. No way am I going to miss out on it." Aya said. She then looked around the tavern at all the drunks. "Ah! Suika! Take care of Reimu for us" Suika, who was laying down on the floor, raised her hand then gave them a thumbs up. "That settles that. Now let's go!"

"_She could really use some help from someone sober, but whatever…" _Mokou said before leaving with Aya and Marisa.

Back in the gap dimension, the floating eyes looked around rapidly as if going insane.

"This is impossible." Yukari said as she quickly dodged a large ball of black fire. She quickly created a barrier to shield herself from the fiery blast when the attack hit the ground. "No human can control that kind of power and keep their mind intact." She said angrily.

"WRONG!" Max yelled as he suddenly appeared right in front of Yukari, punching her right through the stomach.

"Gah!" Yukari yelled out in pain, spitting up large amounts of blood.

"Lady Yukari!" Ran cried out as she struggled to get out of Max's psychic grip.

"Fantasy Nest: Flying Glow Worm's Nest!" Yukari yelled with blood spilling out of her mouth. Numerous gaps opened all around her, firing blue lasers at Max, and knocking him back.

"Gah! My eyes!" Max cried out as the lasers pummeled him.

Ran broke free from Max's psychic grip then swung her foot up between his legs. He quickly closed his legs, catching her leg and snapping it in two. He then quickly turned around, hitting her in the chest with an explosive punch. She screamed as she was sent rocketing backwards a great distance before being swallowed by a gap. Another gap opened up somewhere in Gensokyo with Ran flying uncontrollably out of it then crashing into some trees.

"_Sorry, Ran, but I didn't expect this young man to be able to control so much of that power. I will have to handle him by myself from now on." _Yukari thought.

Max formed two large burning balls of black fire then threw them one at a time at Yukari. She opened a gap in front of her that swallowed one of the black fire balls that then fired it back out at the second black fire ball. The two fiery attacks collided into one another, creating a giant explosion of black fire that consumed both her and Max. Before the flames even cleared, they both were already trading powerful blows between one another. Their fists collided as they went to strike one another, breaking both of their hands, arms and shoulders.

"Err..." Max growled as he held his pained shoulder.

"Can you see it now, Max? Being able to control that power so well makes you even more dangerous to our world." Yukari said as she panted. "The Unspeakable One does not need to come here to destroy this world. He could have you do it without you even knowing it."

"We'll see about that." Max said as he got back into his fighting stance.

"There will be no need. I told you. You are not leaving this dimension. If I cannot defeat you, then I will just have to stop using my gaps, sealing you in here forever. Though I do not want that fate for you, I have no other options. Your fate is already a cruel one. I really am sorry you had to be touched by a cosmic horror." Yukari said.

"I don't need your damn pity." Max said.

"You do not need to accept it, but please do accept my offer of pulling that power out of you. I am sure you wouldn't survive, but it is a better fate then being trapped in here for who knows how long."

"Go to hell."

Yukari sighed. "So be it. Then let me see if I can drive you to your limit." She said as she prepared herself.

"I have no limit!" Max yelled as he quickly rushed Yukari, but to her surprise, a strange, distorted gap suddenly opened up between them with Max rushing head first into it.

Yukari stared in a daze as she watched the corrupted gap close, leaving her alone in her dimension. "What? But how?" She said while looking confused.

Max ran out of a corrupted gap that opened right outside of a shrine then into a nearby tree, breaking it. "The fuck?" Max said as he realized what he had just hit. He looked around him to see that he was back in Gensokyo. "Yeah! Dumb blond finally found some marbles."

"Max?" Remilia shouted as she, Mokou, Marisa, Aya and Suwako ran up the stone stairs that lead to the shrine.

"Max you dog you!" Mokou called out.

"What y'all want?" Max said.

"I knew you would beat her, but how did you get out?" Remilia asked.

"That tall blond let me out I guess." Max said.

"Eh? Why would she?" Suwako asked.

Suddenly, a gap appeared with Yukari stepping out of it.

"And there's the loser now!" Aya announced then ran towards Yukari while taking out a notebook and pen. "Miss Yakumo. Please tell me how this young man managed to escape your grasp?" Yukari punched Aya in the gut then walked away. "We'll talk later…" She struggled to say.

"So you found out the hard way that Max has a stronger will than you thought, Miss Youkai of Gaps?" Remilia said smoothly. Yukari said no words, instead looked around cautiously as sweat ran down her bloodied face and her fists shook at her sides.

Ran suddenly appeared out of the forests then ran up to Yukari. "Lady Yukari! Why is he out here?" She said.

"Maxi!" A girl called out. The entire group turned to see a young girl in a black one piece standing in the doorway of the shrine. "I got tired of waiting for you, so I brought you to me." She said cheerfully.

Shock appeared on Max's face. "How the frikin hell did you get here?" He asked.

"You know that girl?" Remilia asked of Max.

"I met her when I ended up in that dark city." Max said. "She's the one who gave me the brilliant plan of finding this damn medallion." He then started to walk towards the girl. "How did you get from that world to this world?"

The girl's face was flushed as she stared at Max. "Oh, Maxi. It really has been a while now hasn't it?"

"Answer the fucking question!" Max demanded with an angry voice.

"Moving from place to place is easy for me you silly boy." The girl said while giggling a little.

"What? Then why the fuck didn't you send me back here yourself?" Max screamed. "This whole entire fucking thing could have been avoided!"

"Could that girl be the one who was leading those humans from the outside?" Ran asked of Yukari. She then noticed that terror had appeared on Yukari's face. "Lady Yukari?"

"But that would have defeated the purpose of me bringing you there." The girl said.

Max became infuriated and confused at the same time. "You? It was you? Not that bastard in yellow?" He hollered.

"I did it to save you, Maxi." The girl said.

"Save me? Save me?" Max yelled out as he tried to contain his rage.

"If I hadn't brought you to dim Carcosa, those people that you thought you had left behind would have caught you, leaving you dead in an ally with a bullet in your head." The girl said.

"You… You fucking little cunt." Max said as he glared at the girl with rage.

"But enough about that… You have disappointed me, Maxi." The girl said, her cheerful expression turning more serious. "Why haven't you used that power I gave you like I wanted?"

"How exactly did you want him to use that power?" Remilia asked.

"I am not talking to you!" The girl said in a loud and distorted voice that caused pain in everyone's ears.

"You! You were the one talking to me in my head this entire time!" Max exclaimed.

"Tell me, Maxi. Tell me why you haven't used my gift. Why haven't you killed those who took from you? All I asked in return was for you to cause a little madness." The girl said.

"Because I am a little more pissed off at someone else at the fucking moment." Max said.

The girl shivered as her cheeks reddened. "Oh, Maxi. Why do I love you so much? That will of yours is so strong. It makes you special. It made you the only candidate that I could use for my plans. But it looks like it is too strong." She said. "I am going to have to break you."

"You aren't breaking anyone." Mokou said as she stepped forward.

"I'm just going to assume you were the one who sent those humans to attack my village." Aya said as she stepped forward.

"It was you who hurt Reimu wasn't it? Well prepare for an ass kicking, ze." Marisa said as she stepped forward.

"I'm just here to take back my home, please and thank you." Suwako said as she stepped forward.

"I think I'll do Max a favor and tear that cute little head of yours off for him." Remilia said as she stepped forward.

"Lady Yukari, what is wrong? Why won't you answer me?" Ran asked as she shook a petrified Yukari.

"There you have it. You're about to get fucked in more ways than one, you son of a bitch." Max said as he, Remilia, Marisa, Mokou, Aya and Suwako all walked towards the girl, some of them cracking their knuckles.

"She's…" Yukari struggled to say.

"Eh?" Ran said.

"Nyarlathotep." The girl said, causing Max to freeze in fear. "That is my name."

"Eh? What's wrong, Max?" Remilia asked as she and the other girls stopped behind him.

"She's the Crawling Chaos…" Yukari managed to say.

"Sorry about the late introduction. Please to meet you." Nyarlathotep said with a smile.

"Max!" Mokou shouted in Max's ear, bringing him out of his state of terror.

"This entire time. We were worried about the wrong cosmic horror." Max said as he clenched his fists.

"What?" Remilia exclaimed.

"She's a god damn Outer God." Max said. "You girls better get as far away from here as you can."

"What? Hell no! I don't care what the little bitch is. I want a piece of her!" Mokou said angrily.

"We are all in this together till the end, Max." Remilia said.

"Figured. Then fight. Fight like you never fought before." Max said. They all then prepared to attack Nyarlathotep.

"Hastur." Nyarlathotep said, causing pain in everyone's minds and causing Max to drop to his knees, his heart making a loud thump. "That would be his name."

"What the hell was that?" Ran asked as she held her pained head.

"He was supposed to remain sleeping while you used his power for my needs, but that will of yours is stronger than I thought. Now you leave me no other choice but to awaken him." Nyarlathotep sighed. "I really didn't want to do this. Your mind will surely shatter when he does. He'll be harder to control too. Damn…"

"What? What do you mean awaken?" Max said as Remilia helped him to his feet.

"Hastur." Nyarlathotep said, causing more pain in everyone's minds as blood poured from their ears and noses. Max fell back to his knees and clenched his chest in agony as he felt something move beneath his skin. Nyarlathotep then pointed at Max. "He slumbers within you."

Max's face paled. "That's… not possible…" He said with despair in his voice.

"That can't be! She's lieing!" Remilia shouted.

"This can't be happening." Yukari said in a voice filled with dread.

"Your body and mind are the only ones that could contain him so I could bring him into this universe, but I never would have thought your mind would be strong enough to not collapse into madness after all this time from having his power running through you, but that all ends now." Nyarlathotep said. "Hastur! Break the minds of this world's creatures and feed me their madness!" She called out.

In an instant, any hopes Max had of beating Hastur had been destroyed. He vomited blood as an agonizing pain ran through his body. His vision darkened as a dark and horrible voice began to echo in his mind. The other girls watched in horror as they began to back up away from him and they started to feel a malevolent presence growing within him. Long, yellow tattered rags began to rip out of his body, wrapping themselves around him then crushing his body. The black sky seemed to melt as red lightning danced across it. Max's screams of misery echoed across Gensokyo as the yellow tattered rags covered every inch of his body. Fear engulfed the Tengu Village, bringing all those who were drunk to soberness. Nyarlathotep watched in sadistic glee at the horror she had unleashed.

"This isn't what I saw!" Remilia shouted.

Yukari walked up to the terrified and confused Remilia, grabbing her by her dress and lifting her up to her eye level. "If we live through this, it will be me who puts a stake in your heart." She said menacingly then dropped her.

Max's screams vanished as he became fully covered by yellow rags and a yellow hood formed over his head, covering his bloodied face. He held out his rag covered hand with silver fire dancing in the palm that then formed into a silver pallid mask. The yellow figure placed the mask on his face then slowly rose to his feet. He lifted his head up to reveal the mask and a spikey yellow crown forming on top of his head immediately after. The medallion with the glowing Yellow Sign appeared dangling from his neck. The darkness filled eyes ignited into a glowing, dark red color that gave off a burning dark red haze.

Hastur, The King in Yellow, had come.

* * *

Hastur, the King in Yellow and Nyarlathotep are all part of the Cthulhu Mythos.


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Sanity Falls

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Hastur's evil power spilled across Gensokyo, leaving no mind untouched by its dark influence. Those whose minds were weak went mad in an instant as they were driven into their darkest nightmares.

"Now that you're awake, won't you tear down that unsightly barrier for me?" Nyarlathotep asked of Hastur. Hastur looked up into the air, observing the black ooze that melted from the sky.

"What do we do, Lady Yukari? We can't let something like this get out into the outside world." Ran said as she tried not to shiver from fear.

"I know that. We need to do whatever we can no matter the costs." Yukari said.

"A-Any i-ideas?" Aya stuttered as she slowly walked backwards.

"The only thing we can do. Attack!" Remilia said as she formed a grand red spear in her hand then charged for Hastur. She thrust the spear into his chest, but the spear shattered into pieces on contact. "Tch. Damn it." She said as she jumped back.

"Move it! I'll snap Max out of it, ze." Marisa said as she pulled out her Hakkero. "Master Spark!" She yelled out, firing a large, colorful beam at Hastur. He made no attempt to move as the laser hit him dead on. After the spell ended, he remained standing unfazed, still looking up into the sky. "What the hell? Not even a scratch, ze?" She said.

"We're going to need a lot more power than that. More than any of us can conjure up." Suwako said as sweat ran down her forehead.

"Don't just stand there staring! Get a move on!" Nyarlathotep shouted as she lost her patience.

Hastur looked down at Remilia, staring at her with his maddening eyes.

"I know you're still behind that mask, Max. The enemy is right under your nose. Now push him to the side and take back control! Don't let it end like this!" Remilia pleaded.

A large, two handed sword that blazed a dark red color formed in Hastur's hand.

"I don't think he's listening…" Mokou said as she prepared for the imminent attack.

Hastur swung the mighty sword, smashing it into the ground as the girls jumped away from the red explosion it created.

Nyarlathotep sighed. "Alright, fine. Take care of them then break that barrier. Just be quick about it." She said as she sat down on the porch of the shrine, crossing her legs then resting her chin on her hands.

"We could use more help with this." Suwako said as she flew into the air.

"I am sure help is coming, but until then we need to make sure we keep him in Gensokyo. I will need to figure out a way to send him back to where he came from in the meantime." Yukari said.

"Easier said than done." Mokou said.

"Fuck it. Just throw everything you got at him, ze!" Marisa shouted as she pulled out a spell card, followed by everyone else. "Love Storm: Starlight Typhoon!"

"Cork Sign: Mountain God Procession!" Aya shouted.

"Hourai: South Wind, Clear Sky 'Fujiyama Volcano'!" Mokou shouted

"Native God: Froggy Braves the Elements!" Suwako shouted.

"Kokkuri-san's Contract!" Ran shouted.

"God Art: Vampire Illusion!" Remilia shouted.

"Sinister Spirits: Double Black Death Butterfly!" Yukari shouted.

The entire ground was drowned in a sea of danmaku, engulfing Hastur in a giant explosion and forcing Nyarlathotep to shield herself from the blast. The top half of the shrine wasn't so lucky as it was torn off from the rest of the shrine, causing a lone tear to run down Suwako's cheek.

"That got him!" Mokou exclaimed.

"Ah! I was too caught up in the moment that I forgot to take a picture!" Aya yelled angrily.

"See? When faced with a problem you can't solve, just throw a bunch of shit at it until it goes away, ze." Marisa said with a smile while giving Yukari a thumbs up, but her smile faded as she noticed Yukari's face was still filled with dread.

"This is far from over…" Remilia said as her fists shook at her side.

As the smoke began to clear, Hastur could be seen rising to his feet with minimal damage. The girls resolve lowered as he stared back up at them.

"Even after all that?" Marisa exclaimed.

"What do we do, Lady Yukari?" Ran asked, but got no answer.

The girls watched in horror as Hastur clenched his hand in the air, drawing in more of his sinister power. His power grew while theirs weakened, along with their will. After channeling enough power, he unleashed a devastating shock wave that quickly rippled through the air, giving the girls no time to dodge as it smashed into them, electrocuting them and knocking them out of the sky. Nyarlathotep watched amused as the girls fell from the sky and crashed into the ground.

"Yup… That one hurt…" Marisa said as she struggled to her feet.

The girls quickly recovered as Hastur slowly made his way towards them. With his horrifying speed, he suddenly rushed the girls, catching them off guard and shaking their sanity. He slashed Mokou with his sword, incinerating her completely in bloody flames and tearing the fabric of space where he swung his sword. The other girls scattered to avoid being hit by his baneful sword as he tried to cut them down as well, creating more tears in reality in the process.

"This sucks!" Aya said as she flew into the air. Hastur then quickly followed her. "Ah! Why me?" She yelled as she started throwing powerful winds with her fan. The winds did nothing but break against him. "This really sucks!"

Suddenly, a gap opened right above Hastur with Yukari immediately coming out of it, kicking him in the back of the head. He was sent to the ground, but before he hit it, he moved in a ghostly fashion, appearing right in front of Yukari then punching her in the chest and sending her screaming into the forest.

"Yukari!" Ran called out.

Ran rushed to Yukari's aid, but was stopped by Hastur who had grabbed one of her tails. She quickly turned around with her fangs showing menacingly then tried punching him, but he caught her fist. He crushed her fist in his hand, causing her to yelp in pain. Without any movements from Hastur, she was hit in the chest by him, breaking most of her ribs, collar bone and rupturing one of her lungs. She quickly lost the strength to hover in the air as she was held up by Hastur who kept a tight grip on her crushed hand. Her life energy slowly drained as his sickening power burned it away.

"D-Damn you!" Aya said as she tried to hide her fear. She then pulled out a spell card. "Peerless Wind God!" In a burst of speed, she flew towards Hastur while leaving danmaku in her wake. She went to crash into him, but was caught by his free hand. She squirmed in his deadly grip only to have her throat crushed in an instant, causing blood to spew out of her mouth.

"Let go, bucko!" Marisa yelled as she pressed the tip of her broom against Hastur's back. Suddenly, his back swelled and to her shock, a black, ethereally tentacle burst out of it then wrapped around her. The tentacle wracked her mind and body as it started to constrict her.

Remilia and Suwako both fired a large ball of magic at Hastur in an attempt to break his grasp on the other girls. The red and blue magic balls hit their target, but to no effect. Suwako formed a metal ring then threw it at the tentacle that bind Marisa, cutting it. The tentacle vanished, releasing the drained Marisa as she fell to the ground. Hastur took Aya and Ran then smashed them against one another, throwing them to the ground below afterwards. Leaving ghostly afterimages in his wake as he rushed for Suwako, he elbowed her in the face, grabbed her by the leg then threw her to the ground. He then quickly turned to Remilia. She pulled out a spell card, but he quickly appeared in front of her then grabbed her face. He flew towards the ground, slamming her into it as he landed. He formed a large sword as Remilia struggled to her feet. He held the sword above his head with both hands as he prepared to deliver a deadly blow. Just as he swung the sword down, a large wooden pillar fell from the sky, landing on top of him and burying him into the ground. Remilia was sent tumbling backwards from the impact of the pillar.

Remilia slowly rose to her feet and watched as a number of other girls showed up. Kanako, Sanae, Yuugi, Suika, Sakuya and Meiling all landed around her. "What took you?" She said as she glared menacingly at Sakuya and Meiling.

"Ah! Suwako!" Sanae cried out as she went to aid the injured Suwako.

Sakuya bowed. "My apologies, milady. We had some trouble back in the Tengu Village." She said with Meiling nodding nervously.

"Some of the tengu went a little cookoo." Suika said.

"Indeed. Now who was that menacing fellow I just crushed?" Kanako asked.

"That would be Max. He has been possessed." Remilia said.

"What? How'd that happen?" Yuugi asked.

"That young man is no longer with us." A battered Yukari said as she appeared from the woods. "His mind was destroyed the moment The King in Yellow awakened."

"That is not true, Yukari." Remilia said angrily.

"Believe what you want." Yukari said. "We need to somehow send him back to where he came. The problem is that will take time and energy, both which we have very little of and I doubt The Crawling Chaos would let us anyways."

"Who?" Kanako asked.

"Oh how nice, more insects." Nyarlathotep said unenthusiastically.

"What is it that you want, Outer God?" Yukari asked.

"Hmm? I thought that was obvious." Nyarlathotep said with a smile.

"You do not need The King in Yellow to spread insanity across the world. You have your legions of servants for that. Why did you go through the trouble of bringing him here?" Yukari asked.

Nyarlathotep smiled creepily. "Do you really want to know?" She asked, only earning a glare from Yukari. Her smile vanished then she sighed. "Well if you must know. After I am done with this insignificant little world, I will use The King in Yellow to overthrow The Blind Idiot God, Azathoth." She then smiled wickedly. "And it will be me who those other fools sing and dance to and this entire universe will fall into an eternal state of madness!"

"That ain't gonna happen, shrimp." Suika said.

Hastur pushed the large pillar off of him then rose from the hole the pillar created.

"Well then, if we're going to have a party then we're going to need some music!" Nyarlathotep said as she pulled out a small black flute.

"What is that?" Ran asked as she walked up to Yukari while holding her pained chest.

"Looks like a flute." Marisa said she struggled to walk.

"Thanks, Sanae." Suwako said.

"Yeah, thanks for that." Aya roughly said as she rubbed her sore throat.

"No problem." Sanae said cheerfully.

"Worst migraine… ever…" Mokou said after she resurrected.

"Listen to my tune as it slowly breaks your heart." Nyarlathotep said as she placed her lips up to the mouth of the flute. She blew softly into the flute, creating a nightmarish tune that began to constrict the souls of all those who could hear it.

Sanae collapsed to her knees screaming in utter terror as she covered her ears with her hands, violently shaking her head. Marisa's and Aya's muscles locked up as they became petrified with fear. Mokou struggled to stay on her feet as the effects of old age crept up on her. Everyone felt their hearts sink as Nyarlathotep continued to play the horrific tune.

"It's The Flute of Horrors…" Yukari just barely said as her throat became clogged.

Everyone looked at the tears in space Hastur made earlier with his sword. Horrifying screams could be heard from them, rattling everyone's sanity. They gaped in horror as a horde of horrific beings from the Void poured into the world from the tears. As each one entered through the tears, the tears were torn bigger, allowing bigger horrors to come through. The horrors scattered across Gensokyo and began to ravage the beings that lived there.

"W-What are those…?" Sakuya said as she began to sweat profusely.

"Sanae! Get a hold of yourself!" Suwako yelled as she tried to shake Sanae out of her terrified state.

"We have to stop that tune! Ran, help me!" Yukari yelled as she rushed for Nyarlathotep.

"Yes, milady!" The horrified Ran exclaimed.

Nyarlathotep simply smirked as Yukari and Ran attacked her.

"We have to retreat!" Suwako yelled.

"Too late!" Remilia shouted as Hastur quickly made his move.

Before Meiling knew it, Hastur was upon her. He uppercutted her, shattering her ribs and rupturing some of her organs.

"Meiling!" Remilia and Sakuya shouted as they rushed to her aid. Hastur swung his hand at them, sending a shock wave that smashed into them, knocking them back.

"Take this!" Kanako shouted as she swung one of her faith pillars at Hastur. Surprise appeared on her face as it broke over his back. In an instant, Hastur was in her face. He headbutted her, sending her tumbling backwards.

"Come on, Max! Your fight is with me!" Yuugi yelled as she went to engage Hastur in melee combat. She struck him in the side of the face with a powerful punch, knocking him back a little. "Ouch!" She said as she held her broken fist.

"Don't forget about me!" Suika shouted as she hovered in the air. Rocks seemed to pull towards her fist, creating a giant boulder. After it got to many times her size, she threw it at Hastur. The boulder struck him, but it reflected off of an invisible shield, sending the attack right back at Suika. "Yikes!" She exclaimed as she narrowly dodged the flying boulder. "Gaaaah!" She yelled out when Hastur suddenly jabbed her in the face.

"Come back here!" Yuugi yelled as she went to attack Hastur. She went to strike him, but was swatted back to the ground by a black tentacle that shot out of his back.

"Conjuring: Eternal Meek!" Sakuya shouted. She desperately threw a horde of knives at Hastur. The knives that struck him were absorbed into his body, but were then quickly fired back out at her, causing her to stop time in order to dodge. Her mind broke the moment she saw the horrors that lingered outside of time. Time resumed and she plummeted to the ground, thrashing about and screaming in terror.

"Sakuya!" Meiling cried out as she struggled to run to Sakuya's side, but stopped when Hastur suddenly appeared before her. Her muscles locked up as fear started to overtake her. He moved strangely, making it impossible for her to tell if he was moving incredibly fast or incredibly slow. She started to tilt from side to side as her vision spun. She collapsed to her knees then vomited before blacking out.

"Damn it damn it damn it!" Remilia quickly yelled in frustration.

"This is not looking to good." Mokou said as her blood started to run cold.

"Come on, little one. This ain't over." Yuugi said as she helped Suika to her feet.

"Yeah, yeah." Suika said as she wiped some blood off of her face.

Hastur moved in a way that defied all reason. With every step he took, with ever twitch of his finger, anyone who saw him felt their sanity being ripped to shreds bit by bit. Aya collapsed to her knees then started to laugh hysterically as she finally snapped.

"This is a nightmare…" Suwako said as tears ran down her horrified face.

The Slaves of Unreason swarmed all over Gensokyo, spreading madness and death wherever they went. No place was spared their maddening touch. The Tengu Village was just one of many places that were assaulted by the monstrosities.

"Fight, damn you!" Tenma shouted at her warriors as they ran from the horrors in fear.

"We… we can't win this…" Momiji said with a shaky voice while blood and tears ran down her pale face.

"Not you too!" Tenma exclaimed.

Tenma and Momiji were suddenly knocked down by a powerful blast that came from an explosion in the air. In the air, Utsuho and Orin fought desperately against the void beings.

"Get away!" Utsuho shouted while tears ran down her terrified face. She bombarded the horrors with sun-like danmaku as they tried to swarm her and Orin. "Orin, I'm scared." She said.

"So am I, Okuu. So am I." A shivering Orin said as the horrors surrounded them, destroying their hopes for escape.

Further up the mountain, Reimu and Alice battled horrors as they tried to make their way to the top.

"What I feared has come true." Alice said as she sent out a small army of dolls to fight against the horrors.

"Damn these things. There is no getting use to seeing these sick creatures." Reimu said as blood ran through her bandages.

A shadow suddenly casted down on Reimu and Alice, forcing them to look up. They started to scream uncontrollably after seeing the giant monstrosity that hovered above them.

Even the Netherworld suffered from the horror invasion. The horrors made their approach towards Hakugyokurou, attacking and eating any ghosts that were unlucky enough to be caught by them.

"Lady Yuyuko, what do we do?" Youmu exclaimed as her sword shook in her hands.

"What can we do?" Yuyuko said while trying to hide her fear. "These things are neither living nor dead and they destroy both without discrimination." Her hands shook at her sides as the horrors drew closer. "We let peace corrode our minds while we shrugged off every harmless incident. We were caught off guard by an incident that ended up being not so harmless."

In The Forest of Magic, horrors attacked the fairies and youkai who dwelled there.

"My, my. I come out a little early to see what all the commotion was about and what do I find? Some mind defying creatures from who knows where." Yuuka said with a smile. She pointed her closed umbrella at a bunch of horrors as they rushed for her. Her smile then turned dark. "Filth like you must be purged." She said as she willingly tossed aside her sanity.

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Flandre ran around inside, attacking anything that moved as the entire place became infested with horrors.

Flandre laughed hysterically as she blew up a few horrors. "This is great! The fun came to me!" She exclaimed.

"I'm… sorry, Remi." Patchouli said as she laid badly injured on the cold floor.

"Stop attacking the wrong people, you idiot!" Cirno shouted as she pulled out a spell card.

"Idiot?" Flandre said with a dark expression as she looked at Cirno. "Someone needs their lips torn off." She said as she pulled out a spell card.

Back on top of Youkai Mountain, the girls continued to fight a losing battle against the evil gods.

"Die already!" Marisa shouted as she scrambled to pull out a spell card. "Magicannon: Final Spark!" She fired a giant and powerful beam of rainbow color, completely missing Hastur as he moved horrifically towards her. Mokou was nearly hit by the beam before she quickly dodged it.

"Watch it you fool!" Mokou yelled.

Marisa pulled out another spell card, but dropped it as Hastur appeared in front of her. Tears ran down her face and her vision darkened as he reached out for her. She collapsed to the ground as she was sealed in her darkest nightmares. Yuugi snatched her up then retreated as a shadow appeared over Hastur. He looked up to see an enlarged Suika about to step on him.

"Squashing time!" Suika exclaimed as she went to stomp on Hastur. He formed a two handed sword then stabbed her foot with it, pumping her full of his evil power. She instantly reverted back to her original size, screaming madly as the dark power wacked her mind.

"You son of a bitch!" Yuugi shouted as she punched Hastur in the head, barely fazing him. She then grabbed a hold of his head then headbutted him, breaking her horn off his mask. "Ah! Damn it!" She exclaimed while rubbing her injured forehead. Hastur grabbed her and in an instant, pummeled her numerous times, breaking everyone bone in her body and knocking her out cold. He went to finish her off, but was hit by a fire ball from behind.

Mokou roared as she flew towards Hastur. Wings of fire flapped behind her as she readied a burning fist. She went to strike him, but he quickly cleaved her with her sword, killing her. She quickly resurrected, but he decapitated her. Every time she resurrected, Hastur would simply cut her down. Her mind cracked more and more every time he killed her until her mind could take it no more. Hastur went to cut the insane Mokou down once again, but was hit by a storm of danmaku.

"Again!" Suwako shouted.

Remilia, Suwako and Kanako pulled out a spell card. They went to call out their attacks, but they were all captured by Hastur's telekinetic power. They grunted in pain as they were smashed into one another. He thrashed them around with his power, bashing them against each other and the land. He finished up by lifting them high in the air then ruthlessly smashing them into the ground. He slowly made his way towards Kanako.

Kanako spat up blood as she struggled to her feet. "This is impossible…" She said then fell back down to her knees as Hastur reached out for her, despair consuming her completely. "How are we suppose to win this…?" She said as tears poured down her face.

"Get away from her!" Suwako shouted as she raced towards Kanako. Hastur suddenly appeared in front of her, grabbing her face with his vile hand. She screamed as her mind was filled with horrific images.

Remilia dove from the air towards Hastur, letting out a roar as she went to slash him with her large spear. He tossed the screaming Suwako to the side then blocked Remilia's attack with his sword. She glared into his insanity inducing eyes as they glared back at her. The sound of metal rang through the air as their weapons clashed with one another.

Against Nyarlathotep, Yukari's and Ran's fight fared no better.

Ran went to claw the flute out of Nyarlathotep's hand as she continued to play the foul thing, but had her arm torn off by a tentacle that ripped out of Nyarlathotep's back. She screamed in agony as blood gushed from her wound.

"Ran!" Yukari shouted. She formed a gap, but it turned out to be a corrupted one with a tentacle shooting out of it, wrapping around her and crushing her.

Nyarlathotep ceased her playing of the flute. "Alright. I've played with you two long enough. Now to end this." She said.

Nyarlathotep body began to swell with the skin ripping in places. Her bloated body bubbled before exploding into a mass of tentacles. Yukari and Ran gaped in horror as she changed into one of her many forms. Ran went mad with one look at the repulsive being that floated in front of her.

"Damn it! I won't let his end like this!" Yukari shouted as she broke out of the tentacles hold then pulled out a spell card. "Bounded Field: Boundary of Life and Death!" She called out.

A giant cluster of danmaku of all shapes and sizes rained down around Nyarlathotep, but they were all absorbed into the gruesome monstrosity, causing it to swell in size. Its shadow covered the petrified Yukari and its dark voice echoed in her mind as the last bit of her sanity was finally shattered.

Remilia and Hastur continued to violently swing their weapons at one another, blocking and dodging the attack of the other then trying to counter attack. The land around them began to die as their powerful energies drained away its life energy.

"You make me hate myself more than anything right now, Max." Remilia said as she dodged a red blob that was thrown at her. The blob hit the already damaged shrine, finishing it off in a large explosion. "Why did I think you were the key in stopping these monsters? Why did I think you had any similarities to my father? How dare me!" She shouted as she swung her spear at Hastur who blocked the attack. "You don't have the mind to stop these things. In the end you were just a weak minded human." Hastur pushed her back then sliced her arm off, causing her to wince in pain and drop her spear. She jumped back to let her arm rejuvenate. "I was so sure it was you who could stop these things. So sure of my power to help you. So sure I could get revenge for my parents by destroying these horrors." She started to step backwards as despair began to settle in her heart. "I really hate being wrong, you know that?" She said as Hastur slowly made his way towards her. She dropped to her knees then clenched her fists. "I hate to admit it, but it wasn't you who was weak. It was me. What I saw in my vision wasn't you standing in their way, it was you leading them. I was supposed to change that fate with my power, but I wasn't strong enough." Anger and frustration swelled up inside her as Hastur's maddening power took it's finally toll on her.

Remilia's last strand of sanity finally broke, leaving only a mindless vampire behind. A violent and blood thirsty vampire.


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Final Breath

Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.

* * *

With both Yukari and Reimu driven into madness, The Hakurei Barrier began to slowly crack and crumble with the presence of the two evil gods agitating it further. In the outside world, reports of unexplained mass hysteria in Japan started popping up in the media. Gensokyo had become a mad warzone as the residents, both sane and insane, continued the struggle against the invaders from beyond. The Human Village had been burned to the ground by the insane villagers while the Ancient City was close to being toppled by the void beings.

Remilia remained on her knees, staring emptily at the ground while Hastur slowly walked up to her. Suddenly, she let out a loud vampiric shriek, causing him to stop. With a speed that surprised even The King in Yellow, she rushed for him then slashed his chest, cutting through the yellow tattered rags and spilling red blood stained with blackness. He punched her in the chest in retaliation, sending her tumbling backwards. She quickly jumped back to her feet, screaming madly as she dashed back towards him with her nails extended. Her wings grew in size and seemed to change as they took on a much more menacing look. Hastur threw a red blob at her, which she blindly ran right into. She withstood the blast and kept on running, slashing his arm as he tried to block. He swung at her numerous times, but she dodged each strike and retaliated by slashing him.

A small growl of frustration could be heard under Hastur's mask as he formed a two handed sword. He cleaved Remilia at the waist, but she quickly turned into a swarm of bats. The bats surrounded him, mindlessly biting and slashing at him. He swung his sword around madly, cutting down and burning up droves of bats with every swing. Remilia reformed from the few bats that remained then bit down on his neck. He grabbed her then violently threw her to the ground, causing her to spit up blood as she hit it. She quickly recovered then went back to relentlessly slashing him with her claws in her fit of insanity.

Hastur and Remilia traded blow after blow with no signs of letting up. After a while, Hastur delivered the final punch, striking Remilia in the head and knocking her to the ground. She struggled to get back up, but he stepped on her chest, keeping her on the ground. She panted as her mad rush began to fade. He stared down at the defeated vampire without making any other moves. He then turned his head when he suddenly heard a slow clap. Nyarlathotep, having turned back to the form of a young girl, slowly clapped her hands while not looking particularly happy or upset.

"As much as I like watching you thrash that thing, I got other things to do." Nyarlathotep said. "Finish it off so we can move on to better things already."

Hastur looked down at Remilia who looked back up at him. She struggled to keep her eyes open as her consciousness began to fade. After a moment, Nyarlathotep sighed then walked up to the downed vampire.

"If you won't finish it, then I guess I'll have to." Nyarlathotep said. Her arm turned into a slimy tentacle then hovered it over Remilia's chest, right above her heart. The tentacle stiffened as it prepared to impale the vampire. Just as she went to pierce her heart, she was suddenly stopped by Hastur who had grabbed her tentacle arm. "What? What do you think you are doing?" She asked as she stared menacingly into Hastur's burning red eyes. He suddenly formed a sword then swung it at her, forcing her to jump back to avoid being cut. "I am growing so sick of you." Hastur then slowly removed the silver pallid mask from his face then dropped it, which dissolved into silver fire once it hit the ground. She stared dumbfounded as Max stared angrily back at her. "Maxi? You're still here?"

Remilia started to laugh, but then quickly began coughing as blood spilled out of her mouth. She wiped the blood off of her mouth then spoke weakly. "I knew it. I knew you were still there. I knew it… I… god damn… knew it…" She said before losing consciousness.

"But that's not possible! No human mind could possible survive alongside the mind of a god from another dimension!" Nyarlathotep exclaimed.

"Well it seems like I'm special now ain't I?" Max said.

"How did you even break free from his control?" Nyarlathotep asked while she tried to hide her agitation.

"I… didn't. I hate to admit it, but the prick let me out. He let me out so I can have a piece of you." Max said as his fists tightened.

"What? Hastur… You son of a bitch. I don't know what you are planning by doing this, but it was I who brought you here. I am the one who found this boy to be your avatar so you do as I say while you are in my dimension." Nyarlathotep said as she clenched her fists, drawing blood. "OBEY ME!" She screamed in a hideously distorted voice. A crazed smile formed on Max's face as he slowly shook his head. She thought to herself for a moment. Her fists shook at her sides then stopped as she calmed down. "Wait… I got a better idea, Maxi." She said while looking at Max seductively. "Since you are miraculously still here, why don't you join me? I could make it so it is Hastur who is imprisoned, not you. You could inherit all his powers and become The King in Yellow yourself. You and I could rule this universe side by side and quite possibly the rest of the multiverse. I will even spare this world since you still hold some attachment to it. What say you?"

Max rubbed his chin as he pretended to think. After several minutes and driving Nyarlathotep's patience he answered. "No."

Nyarlathotep clicked her teeth in disapproval. "Why not? It is the best possible outcome for you. Even if you were to defeat me, Hastur will be free to ravage this world. He will probably do worse to it than what I would."

"Yeah I know, but if I can get rid of one outer god, then that will leave only one for this world to deal with. I'm sure they'll find a way to stop him." Max said.

"What? Do you really think this world stands a chance? Look at these creatures here. This world's strongest beings have already fallen into complete madness. How can they possibly do anything?" Nyarlathotep asked.

"No clue." Max said.

Nyarlathotep faked a smile as she tried to hide her frustration. "Damn you, Maxi. You keep on giving me more reasons to hate you. It makes me love you even more." She said as she started to fidget. "Just looking at you angers me… and makes me wet." She said then grabbed herself and causing a small cry to leave her lips.

"Uh huh…" Max said while looking a little disturbed.

"Answer me this, Maxi. You hated this world so what made you attached to it? This world that would only show you hell and when it did show you a little good, it burned it in an instant." Nyarlathotep said.

"I never hated it. Frustrated with it? Sure. Hate it? Not really. I accept all the bad shit I went through because of all the little good I found, even if I was only able to hold onto it for a little while, it was all worth it." Max said while wearing a content expression. "The ones that made my life hell were the ones I hated, but now I just don't care about them anymore. I don't really hold much hatred for you either. If it wasn't for you I would have never found Gensokyo. I would have never met any of these weird girls. I had fun while I was here. You said earlier that you saved me from being killed by those assholes I thought I got away from, right? Well… thanks for that."

"Thanks?" Nyarlathotep said while looking confused. "Thanks? What is this? Why are you thanking me?"

"Yeah I kinda figured you never received thanks before. Not that it matters. I'm still going to kick your ass up and down this mountain." Max said. "Now enough of that. It is down to you and me, you freak of natural law. Whatever it is that you want, I will deny you." Max said as he pushed the hood off his head, knocking off the crown which vanished before hitting the ground.

"F-Fine, but once I teach you your place, you will become mine. All mine for the rest of eternity." Nyarlathotep said as her cheeks turned red and her expression turned sadistic.

With his mind shattering speed, Max rushed for Nyarlathotep. He went to jab her in the face, but she caught his fist then countered by swiping his legs out from under him. He quickly vanished before hitting the ground then appeared behind her. He formed a sword then went to stab her, but a mass of tentacles burst out of her back and wrapped themselves around him.

Nyarlathotep giggled. "To see a human control the power of a cosmic horror, it really is unthinkable." She said as her tentacles constricted Max.

Max roared as he sent out a blast of red energy, destroying the tentacles and causing Nyarlathotep to grunt as she was sent flying forward. Max took his sword by the handle with both of his hands then thrusted the blade into the ground. Cracks that glowed an eerie red sprouted across the ground from where the sword was stuck. The entire mountain quaked as the dark power ran through it. Nyarlathotep quickly jumped into the air to avoid the horde of black tentacles that had suddenly sprung out from the cracks.

"Impressive!" Nyarlathotep shouted. The tentacles tried to eviscerate her, but she danced around mindlessly, dodging their every attempts.

Max appeared behind Nyarlathotep then tried to cleave her. She blocked with her arm, shattering the sword. Her chest suddenly burst open with terrible things being seen squirming inside. Bloody tentacles shot out for him, but he managed to catch a hold of most of them with his hand. He then wrapped them around his arm then began to swing Nyarlathotep around over his head. With all his strength, he violently threw her to the ground. She smashed into the ground, burying her several feet into it. He formed a large, burning ball of black fire in his hand then tossed it at where Nyarlathotep had landed, engulfing the entire place in a giant explosion of black fire. He didn't let up, creating another black fire ball then then tossing it, followed by another then another. The mountain itself began to crumble as the explosions violently shook it.

From the burning ground, the land seemed to rise before suddenly collapsing. An amorphous black cloud seeped out from the broken land, giving off a strange black and white light that would melt the minds of any normal beings that saw it. Max formed two swords then threw them, sending them spiraling at the amorphous cloud. The spinning swords turned into small red twisters, cutting through the strange cloud. The pieces of the black cloud reformed then tried to envelope Max, but was dispersed once again when he spun rapidly with two swords out to his sides, creating a red hurricane. Nyarlathotep formed out of the pieces of the black cloud then rushed for Max while laughing hysterically. He slashed both of her arms off, only for two large tentacles to appear out of the wounds. They both thrashed and pummeled one another in midair. Gensokyo itself began to quake as their horrific powers collided.

As the Hakurei Barrier weakened more, the powers of the outer gods seeped out to the outside world further, causing madness to spread to countries outside of Japan. Within Gensokyo, many beings had begun to make a stand against the horrors from beyond. Forces from Makai led by its creator had begun an offensive against the abominations. Groups of shinigami had been tasked to the world of the living in order to free the souls devoured by the eldritch horrors. Despite many residences of Gensokyo rising up in defense of their home, time was against them. The Hakurei Barrier was not going to stand much longer. If it were to fall, both Gensokyo and the outside world would be doomed. The King in Yellow's power would spill out into space, awakening the cosmic horrors that sleep beyond the stars. They would awaken and then they would come. They would come to the light that The King in Yellow gives off and they would wash across the Earth, devouring everything.

Max grabbed a hold of Nyarlathotep's head then ruthlessly started to headbutt her repeatedly, causing blood to gush from both of their foreheads. Nyarlathotep grabbed his face to stop his attack then uppercutted him in the stomach, knocking him back. They both sent a fist rocketing towards one, hitting each other in the face at the same time. Blood flew from both of their mouths from the blow. They both recovered then went to strike each other again, but with their fists colliding with one another this time with a powerful shockwave created from the point of contact. They both punched and kicked one another relentlessly. With every hit they made a shockwave was created that seemed to damage reality around them.

Max roared as he dropped his elbow down upon Nyarlathotep's head, sending her to the ground. She landed on all fours then quickly stood up, only to be cleaved at the waist by Max's sword. The two halves quickly regenerated the lost half, creating two Nyarlathoteps. They both attacked Max with each being cleaved, only to multiply into more Nyarlathoteps. Soon, Max found himself fighting hundreds Nyarlathoteps. Max unleashed his onslaught on the clones of Nyarlathoteps by creating a large black fire ball then slamming it into the ground, engulfing himself and all the Nyarlathoteps in a giant explosion.

Within the black inferno, Nyarlathotep started to scream in an alien tongue, causing corrupted gaps to form all around her. From the dark gaps, impossible horrors poured out and attacked Max, with him cutting them down one by one as he made his way towards Nyarlathotep.

"Awaken, mighty old one!" Nyarlathotep shouted.

Max stopped his advance as a colossal size tear formed behind Nyarlathotep. He prepared himself for what was coming from the other side as he felt a dark and horrible presence. Suddenly, a pair of gigantic claws ripped through the tear then began to spread it apart. Max gaped in horror as a gargantuan monstrosity appeared from the portal.

"Holy shit… Frikin Cthulhu…" Max said.

The half asleep, half awake Cthulhu struggled to pull itself from the portal. Its maddening dreams began to inflict the already mad stricken land. Max flew towards to giant beast with his fist prepared. He roared as he summoned a massive amount of power into his fist. His fist glowed an evil red with chaotic sparks dancing around it. He struggled to hold his fist steady as it started to shake wildly.

"Fuck off!" Max screamed as he delivered a devastating punch to Cthulhu's forehead. Cthulhu grunted as he was knocked back into the portal. Max quickly channeled his power into the portal to close it. After the portal was sealed, he panted in exhaustion and held onto his pained hand. "Shit. I ain't getting anywhere with this." He said. He then looked down at Nyarlathotep to see that she was laughing hysterically. "_I can't destroy her. Even if I could, this world would be obliterated long before that. The only thing I could do is…" _He thought. His expression then turned dark and gloomy. "_Not exactly what I want to do, but I would be killing two birds with one stone." _He let out a long drawn out sigh. "_Fuck… I wonder if I can even pull it off. Either way this is going to suck." _He descended to the ground then the moment he touched ground, he rushed for Nyarlathotep.

Nyarlathotep formed a dark grin then clapped her hands, sending out a green shockwave. The shockwave ripped through the air and through Max, shredding his insides. He cried out in pain as he was knocked back. He quickly recovered then continued to rush for Nyarlathotep as she continued her insane laughter. She clapped her hands repeatedly with Max running through the shockwaves that were created while grunting from every hit. She took to the air with him following her.

"Just give up, Maxi. No one will blame you if you do." Nyarlathotep cooed. "I promise there won't be anyone left to give blame." She said with an evil smile. Max then tackled her. "Oh, Maxi… Finally growing affectionate?" She teased.

"_Please let this work…" _Max thought as he tightened his grip around Nyarlathotep. He then started to muster as much power as he could.

Nyarlathotep looked at Max curiously. She then turned her head to see a black portal open behind her. "Pfft. Maxi, please. You know that taking me somewhere else isn't going to help anything. I will simply walk right back into this world."

"I know of one place that you won't be coming back from." Max said.

"Hmm?" Nyarlathotep said as Max flew her into the portal.

Back on the ravaged ground, Remilia was struggling to get on her feet. Her head was wracked with intense pain as her body ached all over. She coughed up some blood as she struggled to lift her head. She spotted the dark portal in the air, noticing that it was slowly closing.

"You… idiot…" Remilia said.

Nyarlathotep rubbed her eyes to clear the black dots from her vision. She then saw Max floating right in front of her. She smiled then went to say something, but her cheerful expression turned to shock as she realized where she was. Billions of different places and times could be seen all at once swirling all around them.

"This is the realm of The Key and the Gate. " Nyarlathotep said as sweat ran down her forehead. "But that's impossible. I can't even enter this dimension."

"You can't leave this place either." Max said, earning an angry glare from Nyarlathotep. "Besides, I am sure Yog-Sothoth hasn't had any company in a while and would love to have a lovely chat with you, you being the messenger of Azathoth and all."

"Damn you, Maxi." Nyarlathotep said angrily. She smiled to cover up her anger. "This was a bold move, but I won't be staying. You can't escape without me escaping with you."

"Who said I'm going anywhere? I'm staying right here. All three of us are staying." Max declared.

Surprise appeared on Nyarlathotep's face. "Don't be a fool, Maxi. You can't imagine what three outer gods could do to a human mind within an infinite amount of time. There is no hell that could breed that kind of misery." She said.

"Yeah… I know…" Max said with a gloomy expression.

Nyarlathotep's expression turned to anger. "Do not doom yourself over some stupid world that doesn't mean a god damn thing!"

"I was already doomed. My fate hasn't changed, but at least I get to laugh in your face knowing that you won't be able to get what you want for a very, VERY long time." Max said.

"Think again." Nyarlathotep said. She then went to dash for the portal, but Max obstructed her. She clicked her teeth then went to kick him out of the way, but suddenly felt something grab her legs. "Huh?"

"Looks like someone wants you to stay a little longer." Max said with a smirk.

Nyarlathotep struggled to move her legs. "Yog-Sothoth you son of a bitch! Let go of me!" She shouted.

Max suddenly felt his body try to move against his will. "Oh no you don't. You're staying here too you prick." He said as he felt Hastur trying to push his will aside. He struggled to remain still, but his body quickly turned against him. "Fucking hell!" He cursed as he lost control of his body. His body went to turn around, but Nyarlathotep grabbed his arms.

"If I have to stay here, then so are you two!" Nyarlathotep screamed in a grossly distorted voice. "This all could have been avoided if you weren't fucking around, Hastur!"

Back in Gensokyo, the horrors had started to be pushed back by the residents who lived there. Without the presence of two outer gods, hope had room to grow. On top of Youkai Mountain, Remilia had finally managed to get to her feet.

"You idiot. Get your ass back here." Remilia said as she pulled out a spell card. "Destiny: Miserable Fate!" She called out. Chains made out of her red aura fired out towards the shrinking portal.

Back in Yog-Sothoth's dimension, Nyarlathotep struggled to keep Max and Hastur from escaping.

"You're going to get my arms torn off! Max yelled.

"I might be trapped in here for a while, but at least I got you here with me. I'm going to have so much fun with you Maxi, but you won't be enjoying any of it." Nyarlathotep said before licking Max's face with her long, alien and slime covered tongue.

"I'd kick you right in the cunt right now if I could!" Max shouted. Suddenly, red chains flew out of the portal and pierced his back. "Guh! Ah shit that hurt." The chains began to pull on Max, causing him to groan in pain. "What the fuck?"

"Seems like we'll be having more joining us." Nyarlathotep said with a sadistic expression.

"STUPID FUCKING VAMPIRE!" Max shouted with all his might.

Outside of the portal, Remilia was holding onto the chains with all her might, desperately pulling on them with what strength she had left, but she was losing ground.

Nyarlathotep's mindless laughter echoed within the strange dimension as the portal grew smaller and smaller.

"Let me go!" Max yelled as the chains continued to pull on him. His vision began to darken as he started to feel something being torn from him. "Please let me be in one piece after this." He said as his vision wavered.

Suddenly, Max was torn out of the yellow tattered rags. He looked in shock at the black hole in the back of The King in Yellow that he was just torn out of. Nyarlathotep was dumbfounded when she found herself staring at the mask of Hastur. Hastur pulled free one of his hands from Nyarlathotep then quickly turned around, grabbing Max by the arm before he could be pulled into the portal.

"IMPOSSIBLE! IMPOSSIBLE!" Nyarlathotep screamed manically as she held onto Hastur's arm.

"Holy shit…" Max said as he stared into the empty eye sockets of Hastur's mask.

"Damn it, Max! Come back!" Remilia shouted from behind the portal, with Max hearing her.

Max glared at Hastur as he glared back at him. He tightened his fist of his free hand then with all the strength he could muster, punched Hastur in the face, breaking his mask and causing him to lose his grip.

"NO!" Nyarlathotep screamed furiously.

Max gave the outer gods the middle finger as he was pulled through the portal, with it closing the moment he went through.

"Damn you Max!" Nyarlathotep shouted. "I will find you! No matter where you are, no matter how long time passes. I will find you and you will pay!"

Hastur stared at where the portal had been, lost in thought.

Max slowly opened his eyes, revealing his natural brown color. His vision was blurred as he winced from a ray of light that hit his face. Once the blurriness faded, he could see a tired Remilia looking down at him. He quickly realized his head was lying down on her lap. He went to move, but found he had no strength to do so. Blood poured out of his back, coating the ground and Remilia's dress red. He drew shallow breaths as his chest slowly rose and fell.

"The hell am I?" Max asked.

"Back in Gensokyo." Remilia said.

"The fuck did you do? I feel like utter shit. Yet… I feel light as hell."

"I lent you a hand. That is all." Remilia said with a smile.

"Way to nearly fuck everything up."

"You're welcome."

Max looked up into the blackness-free sky, with Remilia following suit. They watched the clouds slowly float by. They said nothing for a couple of minutes, choosing to listen to the wind make its way through what trees remained standing.

"You did well, Max." Remilia said while brushing Max's bangs back.

"I… hope so. Those fucktards will probably escape from that place eventually, but I'm betting it will be long after even your time has passed."

"Good. That's good."

"Shit… Those other horrors are still running around aren't they?"

"Don't worry about them."

"I won't. Too tired to worry about them. So frikin tired… I'll help take care of them once I get some sleep, alright?"

"It is fine. You don't have to worry about them anymore. You just rest now."

"Alrighty then… Goodnight, Remilia."

Remilia kissed Max's forehead. "Goodnight, Max. And thank you." She said, earning a smile from Max.

Cherry blossoms carried by the wind danced above Max. His eyes began to slowly close as his strength left him. The wind ceased, covering him in the blossoms it was carrying. His eyes fully closed and his chest rose no more.

The End

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That's it. My first fan fiction. For this story, I didn't outline it but instead I let my imagination take me from chapter to chapter while only having a vague idea of what the ending was going to be until a few chapters in. I must say, this came out completely different from what I had originally planned. This was suppose to be, well, a HORROR, but it just didn't come out like one. It was suppose to contain a lot more depravity and death, hence why I gave it an M rating in the first place. I might bump it down to T, but perhaps the language used by the main character was enough for an M rating? Anyways, thanks for all the reviews. I really appreciate them. In the end I hope you all enjoyed reading my story. Let me know what you liked or disliked most about it. I will come back later and fix all those stupid spelling errors and such. I definitely have more stories I want to write so you'll see more from me.


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